I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a small amount of concern about these shows, at least on my part. Oh sure, Chris is a fantastic drummer and he began fitting into Action 45 both musically and personality-wise very quickly, but it had only been a month and some change since he had officially joined. What was going to happen on stage? As Dr. Thompson put it, WILL WE MAINTAIN???!?

Many people learn how to swim by being tossed into the pool to quickly overcome their fear of the water. Two years ago, that’s how it happened for me – I joined in the beginning of February, we did our first show on February 29th. But that’s not always the best thing to do – many people almost *drown* when they attempt that kind of introduction. But luckily there was no cause for alarm, because both shows at the Crest and Old Towne Pub went perfectly. Well. Almost perfectly.

Friday night at the Crest was a new experience in couple of ways beyond us, it was our first time playing at the club. Unfortunately, the PA we were using had serious problems which made it difficult to hear both onstage and off. And a buttload of feedback. You want to know how much feedback is a buttload? It's uncomfortable to sit. But it happens, and you move on. 

The first band were old friends of mine, the Bearded Witches. Their drummer, Nathan, and I were originally in the band, Division Six (which is a blast from the past for many of you, I’m sure.) It was their second show, but they were in good form with a new song (which I liked a lot) and a heavy, thundering sort of groove to their music. Early Black Sabbath, L7. Good stuff, Ralna.

Hear Kitty Kitty had a Go Betty Go kind of vibe and their lead singer was really charismatic and worked the stage well. (They were really cool off stage as well.) I mean it when I say those folks out in Torrance are buck wild, though – we hung out with many of the locals and they were off the hook, but nice as hell (One more happy birthday to Lisa, btw. She’s the one I pulled out of the men’s room, she had a LOT to drink that night.) Brian and Ronda from the Blob were also nice enough to come down. We're playing again with them in June, and that should be a great show as well. (But more on that another time.) 

Saturday was even more wild at the Old Towne Pub, out in Pasadena. The Counterfeit Saints started things strong with the quasi-debut of their new singer Vito and their new drummer, Mark. Both guys are great additions, solid and entertaining as hell. Symbol Six were fantastic, as was Dead Lazlo’s Place. We managed to sneak in two additional covers into our line-up: Freedom of Choice and For You. Freedom of Choice has become a standard for us, but ultimately we did the tune that to prove to our friend Charlene that yes, we do know a Devo cover. For You, on the other hand, was added for Catt who had driven down from Santa Clarita directly after work and showed up right as we were starting High Life. So we added one more, just for her.

Special props go out to Eric P. who drove all the way from Oxnard to see us perform at the Pub, and a double shout out to the Bastards Crew of Waymon and Bryna who went to both shows and worth the mailing list for both gigs. Thanks guys, we really need to get out to Vegas again. It was an Action 45 weekend, no doubt about it. The shows went great, the bill was perfect both nights and we’re just getting started. As for Chris’s performance, the best quote of the night came from the Counterfeit Saints after our show – “Jesus, guys. It’s like he’s been playing with you guys for years.” Glad to hear that, fellas. We’re going to do our best to make sure he does. (Provided he doesn't drown of course.) 

Our set list come from Lisa the Birthday Girl at the Crest in Torrance: