PCMH is a HUGE venue with a top flight staging/sound/lights, and usually only have touring acts coming through. Ocean was the “headliner” but both bands got to soundcheck, a REAL soundcheck, not just making sure signal was going through the PA. There were monitors everywhere! We could actually hear clearly onstage! This rarely happens. Where I musically grew up in NY/NJ, live sound is really good, and I’m sorry to say this if anyone is offended, but for the most part sound people in New England are pretty shabby and the systems are never rung out. PCMH was a refreshing change from the norm. Ocean’s soundcheck was staggering: their dense wall of doom really filled the huge room and started reacting with the structure. We were aghast with anticipation: this was going to be a really heavy night.

I think because there were only two bands that night, we were required to play for 70 minutes, about 20-25 more than any previous gig we have played. At least we would now have an opportunity to really showcase a broad cross section of our material. Our set went down great, not feeling hampered by unclear sound onstage, we were able to really dig in and rock. The pics from that night on that huge stage made us look like a major band. That’s was a nice feeling. The downside of the long set, though, was that by the end we were pretty pooped. My guitar solo in the last song sounded more like the solo in “punk rock girl” by the Dead Milkmen than the version on our original cd. (You Milkmen fans know what i mean.)

Afterwards everyone was complimenting us and stating with a bit of shock how great the venue and PA made us sound. Apparently a lot of them had never been to the venue and couldn’t believe how nice and upscale it looked and sounded. Some pics from the show can be seen here.

Ocean eventually strapped in and cranked up. Those of you who have heard them know what they sound like: a horrifyingly beautiful droning noise at glacial tempos, a wall of noise as thick as the walls of Hitler’s bunker. It was so dreamy and beautiful, Jenny and I stood there in the audience totally enraptured. And boy did they seem different on that big stage, like they finally LOOKED like the major band we know they are. We had just never visually SEEN it that way before. They usually play the same loveably dark local rat holes all Portland bands play. They did their usual thing of play one song that lasted about 40 minutes and a second one that was about 25. Ocean has move into first place on my great Portland bands list.

All in all a GREAT night and totally put us in the mood for the upcoming tour. Turnout was great (166 – a surprising amount on a tuesday), we were well compensated, and best of all we got to play on a great stage with a great PA with Ocean.

Headlining was Ravage who are signed to Metal Blade. We played second. Up first was In Harms Way who played some trad metal with harmonized guitar parts. Nice guys with a pleasant sound, though those guitars got totally swallowed up by the bass guitar and cymbals. More midrange! I’d like to catch them a bit down the road and see how they develop.

Our set was short, (especially compared to the 70 minutes we did in Portland), and IMO we played great. Turnout wasn’t all that hot – not as good as our last show at Metal Thursdays. There was, however, a photographer from returntothepit.com there to shoot the show, including us. By the next day the pics were online and we looked great! Usually we are down on how we look, but in this case we looked so rock and roll. That alone was worth the trouble of playing the gig. Check them out here.

As we broke down Skullhammer played, a trio very much in the vein of 80’s thrash trios, kind of Whiplash/Raven/Exciter-esque. Rocking was their business and business was good. We were looking forward to seeing Ravage, but because of the long drive ahead we needed to skedaddle early, so we missed them. The promoter Samantha was very gracious and understanding. Spent the night with Matt and Stacy (my Nephew and Niece who came to the show). I got some nice hangout time with family.

Since we were up so early we got to albany before noon, Lots of time to shower, nap, hang out. I went to school in neighboring Schenectady, and the venue (the Fuze Box) used to be the QE2, which at the time was THE tour stop for indie bands in the area. Of course I was wheels-less back in the day so I never went there. It’s actually in an old White Tower hamburger joint, I guess a rival of White Castle in a bygone era. Bar up front, Dance room in the back with a very high and very small stage, plus an upstairs balcony/lounge. This night was part of Alien Nation, a monthly goth/industrial dance night. They are adding live bands to the show and we were the guinea pigs for this – no other bands that night. Dani the promoter and her life/business partner Andrew were extremely cool and accommodating. We set up and sound checked – the stage so small we had to walk onto it in a certain order. We know ONE person in the Albany area, but there were a bunch of late 30’s ish people who came in during soundcheck and sat down. Before we went on, Andrew told me that there were more people there early than they ever had, and he motioned to the 30-somethings, saying he had never seen them before. We can only assume they were there specifically to see us. Pics of us before and during our set, as well as the dance crowd, can be seen here.

Despite the cramped environment we played pretty well. To fit with the audience, we played a lot of our early, shorter, more new wave-ish material, some songs we haven’t played live in 3 years. It was a nice change of pace from the 10 minute epics. The audience sat quite quietly and watched, some leaving and coming back a few songs later, but for the most part we seemed to go over fine. Later we were told the promoters had their best night ever and gave us credit for at least part of it. Andrew is in a cool band called Doomsday Virus. We’re trying to get them a gig in Portland.

The schtick of the dance portion of the night was Depeche Mode versus KMFDM, the DJ switching between the two. As soon as we said “Thank you – good night” we heard “REACH OUT AND TOUCH FAITH!” booming down from the PA. After packing up Jack and Runtt drove the van back to the hotel while Cruella, Jenny and I stayed to fraternize with the locals and dance. We chatted with Dani and Andrew and some of their friends for quite a while, but Cruella’s choice of shoes eventually put the kibosh on any dancing.

One thing we noticed was there was much more PDA and drunken hookups than we usually see. And albany drunks are much more entertaining than Portland drunks. They were a real mess. My constant humming of “reach out and touch faith” had drunks coming up to me saying “bless me father!”, which i did in my best lapsed catholic fashion.

We eventually departed, caught a cab back to the hotel. We were hungry, so we tried to order pizza. No luck. Then I walked to the restaurant on the corner with the big flashing OPEN sign. They were actually closed and forgot to turn off the lights. Then I walked to Dunkin Donuts, only to find they were closed except for the drive thru, and they wouldn’t let me walk through the drive thru, as they were recently robbed. As though a car would hinder my robbing abilities. So I gave up and went back to the hotel and went to bed. Oi!

Previously I had dealt with the club owner of the New Wave Cafe in terms of bookings, and that can go either way: either they are very hands on or they are total hacks who let everything fuck up. We were also supposed to be one of 6 bands playing, so we did not have great expectations for the show.

Driving to the gig we found Lake Apponequet overflowing right over the roadway! as we plowed through the water I envisioned the rental van going under, but we got through ok. Whew! Despite being in a really shitty neighborhood, the club had a big stage and a good PA, with lots of monitors, both front wedges and side fills. Paul the owner turned out to be the hands on type of bar owner, and they were really organized, right down to how the gear for all bands flows in through one door and out through another. Two bands had dropped off the bill, so we ended up going on earlier than originally planned but we got to play longer. Though we were not paid, they bought us pizza, and thus we did not have to buy ourselves dinner, so in effect we were paid.

Sound onstage was very good, we played really well, and the crowd really liked us. Cruella really belted it out. Afterwards Paul said that he had purposefully put us on this meat market bill to check us out, and next time he’ll put us on a better bill. We’ll see. We chatted with a lot of other musicians, some playing that night, some not, all of whom offered to hook us up with more gigs. So in terms of making contacts alone it was a good night. After us was Cortez, a band from Boston that Tony D’Agostino used to be in. The were FANTASTIC! Very Sabbath with and interesting tempo/groove twist. The Singer looked a lot like Reuben Little with the Fuge’s face under the beard. Very odd to look at their dopplegangers rolled into one guy. Pics from the show can bee seen here.

After getting back to Cruella and Michael’s place we all change into our PJ’s and hung out. Cruella offered to make tea, and then rattled off like NINE different kinds of tea she had. That woman is serious about her tea!

So, we have another tour under our belts, played three good shows (four counting Portland), got some cool pics, met cool people and made some good contacts for next time. See you all then!

Four hundred miles
Without a word until you smile
Four hundred miles
On fields of fire

However, there was one more fly in the ointment to consider. back in March I had, on a whim, thrown our hat into the ring for the Utica Music Festival in Utica NY. Surprisingly, we were accepted fairly quickly! Surprisingly because these things are NEVER this easy. So, with a bit of skepticism I kept in the back of my mind the fact that we may have to go out to Utica for a show in Sept. We we’re not notified of our actual slot until June, and at that point I proposed turning the one gig into a short tour, our first. Again surprisingly, everyone else was into the idea! I think the fun factor was the biggest selling point.

So with that in mind, we were able to rustle up two other gigs (Tammany Hall in Worcester MA and Dingbatz in Clifton NJ). Though no one else in the band had ever been on tour, I had when i was decidedly younger, and it was a fucking horrible experience, with several close friendships ending before the tour ended. So with that in mind, off we went on the tour we dubbed “the Unfinished Business Tour 2009″, named so due to having to cancel the tour we had planned for 2007. I kept trying to focus on the fact that we were all adults and good friends as well as band mates, and that everything would go fine. In actuality, it went more than fine, it went great, and everyone had an awesome time. So much so that we’re planning another tour for the coming Spring.

Once back from the road we realized our 5 year anniversary was coming up, and since we had not played in Portland for the entire year, a special show at Geno’s was in order. Our very first gig in Oct 2004 took place at Geno’s, though admittedly at the old location on Brown Street. At our 5th anniversary show everyone there made us feel so welcome and accomplished. It’s truly our home away from home.

So, now that the studio is done, recording will start very soon, and then another tour. The new record will kick major ass, and not meaning to sound all high and mighty, but I really feel we have moved into a new strata, as we are now a “touring” band. Some friends of mine who tour for a living have warned me that sometimes the road can get draining, especially if you’re out for long periods, but actually I doubt we’ll ever get beyond 4-5 shows at a clip, as our personal lives aren’t flexible enough for anything else.

But that’s fine by us. We just want to keep it fun and challenging. Life’s too short for burdensome and draining.

The Night Is Young
by Aimsel L. Ponti

My, how time flies when you’re playing a witches’ brew of Goth-anointed alternative rock/prog/metal. It’s been five years since By Blood Alone played its first show at Geno’s, and although the traditional fifth anniversary gift is something made of wood, I think By Blood Alone would prefer something in black velvet. Congrats to the band on hitting this milestone!

For the uninitiated, slither over to bybloodalone.com and myspace.com/bybloodalone, where you can spend seven minutes in Cruella’s BBA heaven listening to “Seas of Blood.” In case you didn’t hear, Blood is the new black.

A Night to Dismember: By Blood Alone 5th Anniversary Show with Ghosthunter and Arcane Lore. 9 p.m. Saturday. Geno’s Rock Club, 625 Congress St., Portland. Ages 21 and older. $5.

It is hard to believe it has been five years since we played our very first gig at our home away from home, Geno’s (the Brown St. Geno’s). We want to thank Barb for having giving us the support we needed from the very beginning of our time in the Portland music scene. In fact we would like to thank everyone at Geno’s for always being supportive of us in every way. And of course all of our friends in the music scene (you know who you are) and all of our fans and family. We wouldn’t have been able to be together this long with out all of you. YOU ALL ROCK!

We feel quite lucky to have had the attention of the local and worldwide media outlets for giving us great press (and some bad which only pushed us to work harder and write better material) This helped us along our journey from the beginning. Without positive feedback from outside of our little BBA world we would have surely not made it this long.

We are celebrating our 5 years of committed bliss at GENO’S, Of Course!, and would be so pleased if all of our friends that have been there for us in the past will come to this show.

We will be joined with our good friends of Ghosthunter and Arcane Lore, and we even have a couple of new tunes to unveil.

It will be a NIGHT TO DISMEMBER!
We hope to see you there and please spread the word.

love and blood always
By Blood Alone
Cruella, Runtt, John , Jack and Jenny xoxoxo

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