Mike the Chef

What's great about touring is meeting so many people from all walks of life, eating different foods and experiencing what the world has to offer.

One of the most memorable individuals we met along the way was Mike the Chef.  Towards the end of 2010 we played The Rock House on Tybee Island by the beach, which is located just outside Savannah, GA.  This area is so beautiful and relaxed.  There are Dolphin tours, warm ocean water and good eatin.  The Rock House's chef is Mike and he is was one awesome mutha*uck*.  We didn't meet him until he approached us after the set.  Also if you want to see what this place looks like there's video on you tube for All For Nothing. 

Mike was telling us that his shift ended and he heard us playing People Who Died then he decided to stay and watch.  From that point on we've all been close.  This is how the rest of the night played out.  After the Rock House closed he invited to his friends bar across the street along with the other band that played. We all sat around the bar and had a giant Iron Maiden sing along. Somewhere in the middle of all this and Mike was shit faced and gave Carly a present.  It was a huge combat knife!  Then it was clothes off and into the ocean time which was only a few feet away. When I woke up the next morning I was in the evil dead house in the swamp somewhere.  That was also the beginning of our relationship with Adam Bailey, he was the drummer of the other band and lived in the band's swamp house.

Anyways back to Mike.  Fast forward to June 2012. We came back to the Rock House and Mike was there when we showed. He came over immediately and it was like a year has never passed. He treated us to his Mako Tacos and bean soup which was some of the best tour food thus far!  After the bar closed we all went across the street again for Iron Maiden sing along lots of shots and yes Carly got a 2nd combat knife! It has become tradition!  The funny twist to this gift is that Carly gave it to Gary our roadie at the time.  We coined him Catastrophe 2 because he always crapped on himself. One of his blunders was that Gary lost the knife and Mike found out.  I forgot to mention Mike is ex-military and has actual combat experience under his belt. I really thought it was the end of Gary, he narrowly escaped getting left in TX a little while before and I thought his luck ran out.  Gary tried making up stories that it's in the van but we all called him out to go get it and he whispered "dude I lost it, you blew up my spot".

Our plan wa to go hang with Mike in LA actually this weekend right now while visiting other band buddies, but our schedule didn't match up. We were going to get a culinary tour of LA. If you're in Tybee island, GA go visit The Rock House, ask for Mike and say Midnight Mob sent you. His food kicks ass!!!

Rochester = Hooligans

So last Saturday, 11/10/12, we played A Pub Live in Rochester, NY. For those of you who aren't familiar with NY, Rochester is located off of Lake Ontario basically the border of Canada.  If we drive 45 minutes west we're in Buffalo and the Niagra Falls area.  Our journey begins with Sandy followed by a Noreaster which sucked a whole lot.  Our van, the Iron Bear, needed some serious nutrients and we had all this weather to contend with along with gas lines.  Luckily no one was filling their cars up at midnight in the middle of the noreaster which means more beverage for the iron bear. Now at least one problem was done we can officially say we will be able to drive to our shows for the weekend.

On Friday we played in Nyack, which surprisingly had good pizza, but that was as interesting as Nyack got.  Moving on!  Earlier in the week our buddies from Siloutte Lies gave us their contact in Binghamton and scheduled a meeting on our way to Rochester. In Bing we scarfed some Texas Roadhouse washed it down with some Yuengling chilled with Abbey for a bit then finally made it to Rochester.  Rochester had some awesome driving scenery, but that didn't compare to what the locals and college kids treated us too later on.  Anyways as we drove into Rochester nightlife area we realized that all these places after awhile look the same (Scranton, Nyack, Erie, Austin etc...)

We get to the venue load in at our leisure, which was great.  No one was around to get in the way and all that. We did our show to about 50 people where maybe 5 actually paid attention, but that was fine.  One of the 5 was the bartender. He had a Type O Negative tattoo so obviously was cool. We take it one person at a time. The next band does their cover band show, which was good, but now I felt like I was back on LI and wanted to shoot myself.  College kids and locals filled up the venue and everyone was shit faced.  People were very aggressive towards us and each other and you can tell something is going to go down.

The door to the venue was propped open and all you can see are cop cars everywhere just outside the venue. Just before this 2 kids were booted from the venue because they intentionally knocked over the bands drinks while the band was playing and called Spydyr & Catastrophe fags. At this time outside someone tried to stab someone else and they were pepper sprayed.  The pepper spray was filling up the venue because the door was open.  Then all of a sudden some girl backed her car up over the curb in the same area and hits someone with her car.  While this was happening cops were running down the block because some guy was beating the crap out of his girlfriend.  Then while that was going on a big electrical storm breaks out, all the bars close and there's a massive clusterfuck in the streets of angry people trying to drive everywhere at the same time.  The funny thing was while all this nonsense was going on anyone in A Pub was doubled over coughing from the pepper spray. 

The stuff we see.  You can't make it up. I love touring.

What did Sandy do to Midnight Mob?!

That Sandy, her sting lingered long after her departure. Lets see:

1. We all lost electicity for close to two weeks

2. Blackey lost her house and had to live with her parents, grandparents and aunt close quarters under one roof which drove her bat shit. Luckily she was able to get into a hotel to maintain her sanity, but she lost all of her music possessions

3. Catastrophe nearly killed himself hauling our equipment out of the van during the flood

4. Carly had her windshield destroyed by a tree

5. Spydyr was forced to work around the clock at the only local supermarket with electricity

6. Squeeze was forced from his living space which was flooded and is currently bouncing back and forth living out of his trunk, but realized that cooking sausage over a candle ain't that bad

7. We were forced to cancel our long awaited EP release show because no one had gas to get there

8. Our Black Moon Rising download cards were delayed 2 weeks

9. Our big show opening for Monster Magnet at Starland Ballroom and our hard copy EP release was canceled

10. Squeeze's car is stained with gasoline due to filling up gas cans to fill up the iron bear

But we're all alive and healthy with our families so who gives a shit! Our journey can't stop here we're deathproof yo!

There will never be a kid named Sandy ever again

Midnight Mob's home base is Nassau County Long Island mostly south shore except for Carly. Our area is about 50 minutes east of NYC. Me, Blackey & Catastrophe are currently living in Massapequa. Spydyr is from Wantagh and Carly in Syosset. We organize one show a year at home and the remainder local shows are normally charity shows, bdays or acoustic. The majority of our playing is outside of Long Island/NYC. Anyways there's always something with our annual show. The first one in 2010 went off without any problems, but 2011 and 2012 was another story. In 2011 we originally organized the show in the summer, but Hurricane Irene hit that day. Damage was really minimal. It was rescheduled around halloween and we had the only snow storm, which was completely out of season, that night. Then recently in 2012 we organized an awesome show with some of our favorite local bands and out of state bands at a local hole in the wall rock n roll bar. This show was our drummer's bday party and our EP release. People were telling us, when we were in Philly, they were coming, same as NJ and NYC. Unfortunately mother nature has subscribed to our mailing list and we received Hurricane Sandy which caused more destruction and loss that anyone could have imagined the week of our show.

As Sandy was looming, which they called a Frankenstorm, residents had mixed feelings. Every storm that has been predicted never lived up to its full potential. As a result many residents stayed in and did not evacuate, people died, people were missing, many lost all of their possessions, many were homeless, gas became scarce and electricity even scarcer.

The wind picked up and darkened early Monday 10/29/12. I lost power around 5:30 PM and the local marina's water level began rising into people's backyards. Around 9:00 PM my entire frontyard and neighbor's yards were under water from the bay. It was something that you just couldn't believe. We were watching a river sweep all sorts of stuff away, a trampoline thrown over a fence all by candlelight and hoping that we wouldn't have to retreat to the attic. We lucked out with our cars by leaving them at the local church parking lot earlier that day, but many had their car taken away from them ruined. In addition, houses were demolished from the water and house fires were occurring thoroughout the neighborhood. There's absolutely nothing you can do but just wait, watch and hope that you and people others make it out without with minimal damage. Currently, Saturday 11/3/12, I am typing this at my girlfriend's in Patchogue which is about 45 minutes east of me and was not really affected by the hurricane. My hometown still does not have power, some towns still do not have water, heat is an issue because the temperature drops at night, gas lines are 4 hours long, many stations do not have gas, many people cannot use a proper bathroom, some people are becoming violent and desperate, some people are disguised as LIPA and stealing whats left from people's houses.

In addition, to all of this Mayor Bloomberg approved the NYC Marathon to still run this Sunday 11/4/12. He stubbornly stood behind his position until late yesterday, Fri 11/2/12, most likely all of the people he is supposed to be speaking for said "Hells No!" In my personal opinion it would be massively bad idea to have this marathon. Not only is it flat out ignoring all of the cleaning and repairing that needs to be done but it is a cold reminder of everyone's very real situation. As a resident we cannot watch the marathon because we don't have electricity, we cannot enjoy it with friends because lack of gas and public transportation & make it & impossible to travel, we cannot got to the city to spectate for the previous reason and & families luckily enough to get in hotels are going to be put in positions to house some dude from Africa, Brazil or wherever! Why can't things be postponed hasn't everyone been through enough and who knows how long this will last for and how worse it can get. The way things are going if people don't get their basic necessities, that they have to pay an arm and a leg for, rioting is around the corner. The same goes for the Knicks and Giants. Why can't one week be postponed? If you need a distraction walk to the local bar, play your guitar, walk to a close friends place, read a book, write, anything and if you can't help your neighbor.

Peace!

"How 5 Wierdos Came To Be"

This band was a long time coming with a ton of weird coincidences.  We are five individuals that met by chance and come from all walks of life. If at the end of the tunnel is fame, fortune and all that stuff then we can honestly say it was fate, destiny, a massive collision of stars or maybe even evolution had something to do with it. A million events occurred and here we are many years later.  This is the beginning of a long ass story with so many long ass words.

Where should I begin.  When I (Squeeze) was a little Squeeze I took guitar lessons at a local music store in Massapequa, NY, South Shore Music, from guitar guru Jon Bivona.  I was a student for close to 4 years and then went out into the musical world on my own where all of the bands I tried to put together kept falling apart for one reason or another.  Not too long later I received a call from the owner of South Shore Music stating that I was recommended to sub if the store needed someone.  It took a little while to make a decision because I felt uncomfortable and not knowledgible enough. Then I thought Jon saw something in me so I figured why not and began to sub when they needed.  As it turned out I became more of a permanent teacher than a sub and not too long later I had at least 50 students a week.  The teacher I was subbing for soon passed away and the torch was passed permanently. So why is this important, because it all leads up to weird coincidence #1.  One of my most memorable students was a mini dark haired version of Peggy Bundy. She came in wacked out on party favors with a white fender strat, zebra guitar strap and asked to learn Dazed & Confused.  She told me her name was Lauren and her friends called her Blackey. Blackey was towards the end of her rope and a little while later she was put in a box and sent to a boarding school in Delaware.

After teaching for a few years I basically gave up on putting a band together. Then one Saturday morning Michael James walked in the door and said he was the new drum teacher on Saturday mornings. (Weird coincidence #2 Mike's girlfriend at that time was Blackey's BFF. There was a falling out with the GF but coincidently a year or so later she end up on the cover of our self titled debut ep, which we didnt realize until we bought the artwork from a totally independant person.) So we would bullshit at work and one day we decided to jam and do a cover band. Eventually we got together and broke the ice by playing my original stuff that I was toying with. One of the first jams would be future titled Perfect Crime, Overdrive, Pull the Trigger and Hands Off You.
We called ourselves The Colonel James. It was formed with my buddy Lips Velvet on vocals and Chris McGuire on bass.

The Colonel James was short lived. At this time me and Catastrophe played together in 2 other bands that were also short lived. I once again said fuck it with playing in a band but continued to write. Catastrophe kept it going with a producer that I did not want to work with anymore. He was a joke. Catastrophe convinced a lot of singers to do the project, but only the last one stuck around I guess because why not. That was Blackey again making another appearance. Close to a year goes by and I asked Mike if he wants to jam again and put together a simple fun original band. Once you have the bug its hard to shake. You just keep coming back.

Here were are now doing it all over with me on vox/guitars, my buddy Eric on guitar and a bass player that doesn't show up. We had a few practices, played an open Mic under the name Honey Tongue and soon after Catastrophe got a call during one of our practices that the the producer didn't want to do the project anymore and that he has decided to go to Japan. Right then and there we decided to merge the bands with Blackey on lead vox.

That's the birth of the Midnight Mob. Within about a month later Carly showed up at our practice spot and Spydyr came two guitarists and one year later.

Welcome

So you have made it this far.  Then the only thing we can say is thank you so much for your continued interest in Midnight Mob and the unsigned music scene. 

Welcome to "Bad News" the Official Midnight Mob Blog.  Lets start by telling you what is so special about this blog and what you can look forward to.  As you all know we are a busy touring band trying to show everyone next door that it can be done. That a local band you grew fond of for whatever reason can indeed turn the masses and possibly be a household name.  First and foremost "Bad News" is written for you for those interested in a much deeper look into Midnight Mob.  A wide variety of exclusive media will only be found here such as: photos, stories, lyrics and a bunch of other stuff only our closest buddies know.

We would love to take you on our travels every step of the way, but we only have a 15 passenger (The Iron Bear) van.  So we figured the next best thing would be to share photos (have you ever seen a bayou sunset?), bands we have met from all over the country, media uploaded from our phones and stories behind all of the above.  Bad News is intended to be a more intimate platform so please feel free to comment, ask questions, make suggestions and/or ask us to do something.

This is basically the Introduction to the Midnight Mob book, which will be written as we move along and you all can be apart of.  Some of the chapters might be a little more interesting than others, but in the end aren't we all curious of the outcome. Before this little introduction ends we would like to give special thanks to certain individuals that went on a limb in order to put our material out there for all of you to have a chance to listen, watch, absorb.  Without these individuals we wouldn't be putting this together right now.  No order in particular: Dave Caggiano, Jarett Belucci, Phase One, Legendary Dobbs, Sarna family, Camacho family, Manteria family, Danny Spy and the list goes on.

*These following posts will most likely be wildly out of order. The older material we are putting our heads together to remember all the details.  So it may take a while to be current, but this should be fun.  Also the same story may be posted by more than one individual with a slightly different perspective.  In addition, we will be creating a private video gallery for all of you and you can see what happened for yourself. Hopefully sooner than later.*

Thank you everyone. Peace, Love, Swag N Roll....