7/28/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that have been coming out to the shows in recent months. We have the best fans in the world. Never have I been in a band before ST where I've seen so many of the same faces singing and dancing along. Some drive hours to come see us! That's dedication! Thank you all so very much. We'll see you at the next one!
Dubs
7/27/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
Not since I was a teenager do I remember listening to the amount of music I've been listening to lately. It's almost as if I have musical ADD except I'm collecting and retaining the information. I can go from The Clash to Dylan to Cindy Lauper in a matter of just a few minutes. I've also been geeking out ever so slightly listening to lost recordings of Buddy Holly. Some demos he did in his apartment in NYC in the late 50's. It's crazy to think he recorded them in his apartment long before technology made it so easy. He had a GIANT 2-Track machine, and probably used a Nueman mic as well. That's all for now.
Hugs,
Aaron
3/9/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
OK here's the story. I used to work for Guitar Center in Roseville MN. (suburb of Minneapolis) I Worked in the guitar dept. I can't remember the day of the week it was off the top of my head (Oct 2002), all I remember was we were tidying up the store because we were getting ready to close. I was in the acoustic room on top of a latter hanging guitars on the wall when two of my co-workers burst in and said "Aaron, Dude, Elliott Smith is in the accessory department!" They knew I was a HUGE fan. I immediately jumped off the latter and ran out there hoping to at least catch a glimpse of him. Lucky for me he was still there.
At GC they have someone stationed at the door to check receipts as people leave to make sure they're not stealing. I asked the person at the door if I could check "that dudes" receipt when he leaves. He said sure. (I later explained why) He came up to the podium I took his receipt, and checked his bag. He bought a Shubb Capo, and a set of Elixir acoustic guitar strings. My heart was pounding when I simply asked him "Are you playing in town tonight?" He said "Yeah at the 400 Bar, it's a last minute thing." I didn't say the typical "you're Elliott Smith!" I heard he had a reputation of giving people the boot if they freaked out on him.
I got on the phone immediately after he left and called some friends to let them know he was playing a surprise show at the 400 that night. I have a lot of friends that are hardcore Elliott fans. Once a year the 400 Bar had a surprise "fly in" show, and that year it was Elliott Smith. Others include Bright Eyes etc. I'm not sure if they still do that. Anyway..... I headed down there with my group of friends and we managed to be some of the first people in line! The doors opened and we were in! I planted myself firmly in front of the stage. Dead center. I didn't move for the rest of the night. A horrid college band played before him. I remember turning around and suddenly the place was packed to absolute capacity. Remember this was an unannounced surprise show. People were yelling at the band saying things like "please get off the stage" "hurry up!". People were just so excited to see Elliott in such an intimate environment. They finished and tore their equipment down. And about 15 minutes later Elliott Smith came out with his acoustic guitar freshly restrung with the strings he bought earlier at my work place! He played for what seemed like hours, I wanna say at least two. He seemed really happy. The crowed was absolutely enthused and acted like they were at a Metallica concert! We cheered after every song and he had a smile the size of Texas on his face. Which was strange for a lot of people because in most pictures of him he just has a blank expression. There's a lot of funny moments I remember from the show. Someone hollered out "play this song, or that song" I remember Elliott saying "I need a pick for that one" "does anybody have a pick?" My friend Joe was standing next to me and reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to him. Elliott said "No that's too English." To this day I have no idea what that meant, but that was Elliott. He had a bunch of full Budweiser bottles sitting in front of him, as well as double shots of Jameson Irish whiskey. Towards the end of the set I took one of his beers and drank it. He didn't seem to mind. My friend actually tried to buy him a shot of Jameson, but was refused. The bartender said the only bottle they had left was reserved for Elliott. Which I thought was kind of funny because while he was onstage he asked the bartender if there was a way he could get another double. The place was so packed that the bartender could barely make his way up there. His girlfriend was there too. He asked if there were any songs we'd like to hear. I said "play everything reminds me of her", and his girlfriend was standing on the side of the stage and said "No don't play that one!" Ever since then I assumed that song was obviously written for or about someone else, and she couldn't handle that. he finished his set and came back and did two encores. Right when he came out for the first one I snatched his set list! He had written what he was going to play for the encore on the list and looked perplexed when he noticed that it was no longer on the stage. I felt bad and put it back up there for a little while. He ended up doing requests, so I just took it back. I've had it in my fire safe ever since.
I'll never forget the night. It was a life changing event seeing him in rare form. He seemed happy....... RIP Elliott Smith.
3/3/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
Hello everyone!
Just wanted to say hello to everyone. We're currently hard at work rehearsing the new songs, gettin' ready for upcoming shows. I can't believe the record is out already! We have a little warm up show April 10th in St. Cloud MN at the Red Carpet Night Club. We're keeping it kinda low key. We just wan't to get the rust shaken off before our big release show. (Details to come) Also I'd like to say thank you to everyone who pre-ordered the record as well as downloading it thus far. Some of you have gone above and beyond the call of duty in showing your support, and we thank you!
That's it for now.
Dubs
1/27/10 | Posted by Aaron comments | Dubs On Fire
It's been a while since my last bloggin's. I just wanted to give a quick thanks to everyone that's been so supportive and enthusiastic over the past year while we've been recording More Noise For The Broken Hearted. It's been a great learning experience, and I have to say it's been a lot of fun. I think we've only played three or four shows while we've been in the studio. It was a major change of pace compared to the last few years of what seemed like endless rehearsals for shows, on the road or near home. I'm proud of the hard work all of us have put into it! We've been practicing for the past week or so and we sound like we haven't skipped a beat. I can't wait to get out there and play live again! I love seeing all of your smiling faces, singing, dancing, and having a great time. We miss you and can't wait to see you all real soon!
Love,Dubs
