EchoBooming in Birmingham

So I spent May 25-29th driving around the moutians of Western NC (and a little bit of Eastern TN). NASIOC held it’s 6th annual “Dragon Meet” at Fontana Village, NC. My “driving vacation” centered around a little place known by several names:

• Deal’s Gap, NC
• US 129
• Tail of the Dragon
• The Dragon

Your best bet for more information is http://tailofthedragon.com.
The best way to describe the road is this:

318 turns, 11 miles

I spent my 6 days up there on various daytrips including a loop that included a quick stop off in the tourist trap that is Gatlinburg, TN for lunch and then down to Cherokee, NC and then back over to Fontana Village. One trip over to Franklin and Highlands, NC, an entire day spent on gravel (in someone else’s car), and nearly an entire day spent driving “the dragon” itself (while avoiding a few bike wrecks).

Highlights:
The trip up, loaded down with 8 shocks, 4 springs, 4 top spring mounts, 4 wheels, 4 tires, one oil cooler, and all of my luggage. (overlooking Ocoee Dam #3).

Slow moving traffic on the Foothills Parkway.

Dork gear as my passenger.

On top of a mountian labeled as “Holy Butt” on my GPS program.

A riverbank made up of junked cars south of Cherokee, NC (click the pic to see the full size image).

Cruising on NC28 (aka “the hellbender“).

Parked checking out the waterfall northwest of Highlands, NC.

Fontana Dam. Largest dam east of the Mississippi (close to where we stayed).

Photos taken by others after the jump (more…)

Sometimes I’m thankful for the things I miss out on…

That wasn’t the case with the Pinback show Friday night. (Can you tell I’m still upset about that?)
But it was the case for the Divisional RallyX in Chatanooga this past weekend:
(Big thanks to Scott Evans for the pictures.)

However, the weekend was not a total bust.

Two of our very own BDSM members placed 1st and 2nd in the Modified 4WD class:
Shea Serian 1st Place M4 (bhamwrxman) (Blue WRX)
Scott Evans 2nd Place M4 (shagnrs) (Red WRX #70)

More pictures after the jump:
(more…)

Well, I missed out on the Pinback show since I failed to buy tickets in advance

I knew that show was going to sell out but did I buy a ticket in advance, hell no!

Anyway, since I didn’t go to the show I did have a chance to hang out with the guys from The Ugli Stick at the Kudu while they set up for the show. They let me take a listen to a few of the tracks from their upcoming album. 7 or so of them have been fully mixed and are ready for mastering, and one of them still needs to be mixed. The new stuff sounds incredible, especially the track that I think is called “Nobody’s Calling Your Name”. I’ll ask the band if they mind if I post at least a sample of the song…

And speaking of the Stick.. They got a mention in The Boston Globe in an article about Rick Hall’s Fame Recording studios where they are recording…. Link to article

It was really great to be able to sit in the shade in the middle of Rushton Park and listen to some great Irish tunes with my wife and my baby. It was a great start to an incredible day that we spent with my parents, my sister and her husband.
Shillelagh Law, Do Dah Day, Surin West, The McWayne Center, and Family… Can’t ask for much better…..

First off Pinback plays @ the Rock N Horse (at the Rock N Horse? since when did they get mid level touring acts???) Friday May 19th @ 8ish.
Sample:

After that, my favorite local band, The Ugli Stick (myspace link), will be playing at The Barking Kudu. They’re just about done with their new album and it is awesome. The new stuff is nearly indescribable, but not so weird where it won’t find a big audience. Here’s a sample from their last album:

Then Saturday is DoDahDay, and I’ll finally get to see a band I haven’t seen in about 2 1/2 years. Shillelagh Law. Traditional Irish music at its finest. 11:30am (Guinness, it’s not just for breakfast anymore!) in Rhodes Park on Highland Avenue (sorry, I couldn’t find any sample music for these guys, but if you like traditional Irish music, they’re not to be missed).

The best thing about the “blogosphere”?

The ability to share your art…

Battlestar Galactica characters done Simpson’s style.