He’s sleeping, so I make a mental note that I’m gonna look for him on the way home from work.
11 1/2 hours later, the company’s network goes down and I leave work.
I often work 12-13 hour days. so, believe it or not, that’s getting out early.
So, I’m riding home and I see the guy walking down the street.
I stop, talk to him and after about 3 minutes, I give him something and I’m on my way.
45 minutes later, I ride past a house that l’ve ridden by literally hundreds of times and I hear a band playing some of the best music I’ve heard in years. In fact, they sound like one of my favorite bands, Destroy All Monsters.
For those unfamiliar, Destroy All Monsters was a legendary Detroit punk band that had Ron Asheton from the Stooges and Mike Davis from the MC5. They sounded like The Stooges and/or MC5 with a girl named Niagara singing about conspiracies.
In the late 70s, and even today, there are very few punk bands that sing about conspiracies.
The Dead Kennedys mention the Trilateral Commission in the song “When Ya Get Drafted”,
Sonny Vincent did a song called “MK Ultra”,
Glenn Danzig did a song about Marilyn’s murder where he blames the Kennedys
…and there’s the lyrics to the song “Nov. 22nd”
Nov. 22nd 1963
Shots rang out, not from one but three
Kennedy’s shot, the nation screams
CIA messing up America’s dreams
Anywho……I’m standing in this person’s driveway, listening to them practice this song 3 times and loving life, even though it’s 39 degrees out.
After they stop playing, I go knock on the door and ask about the band.
I mention how much I like the song and they invite me in.
I tell them how much that song sounds like Destroy All Monsters and this guy in the back of the room speaks up and mentions that he knows the drummer from DAM!
(The drummer's the one on the left.)
I walk over to the guy and realize I know him!
He's a friend of a friend and I haven't seen him in about 6 months and he's playing in this band!
So we chat for awhile and he mentions that Jad Fair from the DC art-punk band Half Japanese is featured on the cover of Thursday's Austin Chronicle, as he has recently moved here.
The guy tells me that there is a pic of Jad inside the mag wearing a Destroy All Monsters t-shirt.
I look inside the mag, and sure enough, there it is.
Before you player haters start in with your “it’s-all-a-coincidence” meme bear in mind that....
1. there's 1.5 million people in Austin
2. the guy I ran into in the band is a bit of a recluse (as am I)
3. I have nothing to do with the content of the Austin Chroncle
4. I never read the Austin Chronicle
5. I saw Jad Fair years ago and I couldn't stand the folk music he plays now
6. This is the first and probably last time that anyone was seen wearing a Destroy All Monsters tshirt in the Chronicle.
And if that's not enough to raise some eyebrows, bear in mind that...
7. the song they played is the ONLY song they play that sounds like that. The rest of their music is hippy-drippy folk music that I detest.
8. Had I not left work EXACTLY when I did and...
9. stopped to talk to the homeless guy for EXACTLY as long as I did,
10. been riding a bike in 39 degree weather (wouldn't have heard it in a car),
11. ridden the exact route that I did,
12. decided to go to the store that I did...
I would have missed the entire thing and I would not have heard the song I liked, as that was the last song and everyone was leaving.
The odds against all of these things coverging are astronomical.
Had I missed that 10 minute window of opportunity, I would have ridden by earlier, heard folk music, perhaps seen Jad Fair on the cover of the magazine at the grovery store I was headed for and bitched about all the annoying folk music in Austin.
Instead, I’ve finally got a band to check out, I'm 1 degree of separation from a member of one of my favorite punk bands and I have a great story to share.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... d%3A584314
