Ghost of Tom Joad..

I heard the cover of Ghost Of Tom Joad that Rage Against the Machine did at work today. The song is actually covered really well. It was originally done by Bruce Springsteen and for those of you who don't know this already, Tom Joad was the main character in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The book was written about the Dust Bowl that took place in the late 30's in the mid west. Farmers and their families migrated west to California to find work. I re-read the lyrics and surprisingly the song is still relevant to today in many ways.

Everyday at work I stare out at San Francisco's unbelievable homeless population. Addiction, poverty, violence, crime, you name it and I have seen it. Almost everyone I talk to is from somewhere else, displaced from New Orleans or just headed out West to leave their past behind. It's sad to see people leave home to head for a better life and just to hit rock bottom. I don't know why I was compelled to post this, it just seems fitting for where I am.


The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
But where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' downhere in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

May 7th w/ The Wednesday Night Heroes

This should be a great show!


Pullout + Wednesday Night Heroes
@ Thee Parkside in San Francisco
$10 to get in.

I am so over working. Does anyone need a guitar player for the summer? I work for real cheap. Shit, I would even settle doing merch for someone. Hit me up.

-Chris

twenty four

So, I turned 24 on Saturday. I don't feel any different. I think once you turn 21 you are officially no longer excited about getting older. The cool thing about your birthday is the fact that most of your friends will come and hang out with you. I got to hang out with friends from New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego and Salt Lake City who were all in town which ruled.

I got in this weird nostalgic mood on Saturday as I drove to Vacaville for a BBQ before the pullout show in Orangvale. It only lasted about an hour or so. I listened to the entire Monster Squad - Fire the Faith album. I guess I was trying to remember things I am proud to have accomplish in my life. I also thought about all the place I have been fortunate enough to visit/tour in the last few years . Every birthday I tend to look at my life and decide whether or not I am doing the right things, or if I am just being a clown and avoiding a "real" job and "real" responsibility. Every year I come to the same realization that I am still very young and I am simply not ready to give up the freedoms that I have just yet. I have seen a lot in my short time on earth and I still have much more to see before I am ready to settle down. I have friends who got married at 21 and I just don't understand how someone would want that kind of responsibility at such a young age. I am happy for them if thats what they truly want, but I think in 20 years they will come to the realization that they let the best years of their life pass them by.

So another year of my life is gone, and I have come to the conclusion that I am happy where I am because I CHOOSE to be here, not because I MUST be here. I think too much. God Damn I wish I was on tour right now. The real world can be such a drag.

Pullout is playing with the Wednesday Night Heros at Thee Parkside in San Francisco on May 7th. I got to tour with these dudes last summer and they are a great band and some of the funniest guys I have ever met. Can't wait to see them again. Come out if you can.

Tour Withdrawl

About 5 minutes into the Pullout Southern California weekend I discovered how much I miss being on tour. I never realized how much of my life has evolved around being on the road for the last couple of years, and now it's not really there. I have always been able to look forward to the next one and now I don't have one wait for, at least not right now. At first I felt depressed, but then I realized I was going to have an awesome weekend with a new band in So Cal..and that is just what it was. Both shows were rad and we got to hang out with good friends. Studio Danza in Whittier California was the first night. The singer before us had someone punch him in the face to show how punk rock he fucking is. All that really did was make him bleed all over the place including the microphone. Needless to say I was not stoked on sharing a mic with some dude who just bleed all over it. I tried to clean it off but it wasn't working. I am obviously not as punk as this dude and lucky for me someone had another microphone I could use and avoid getting AIDS. The second day we headed down to San Diego and met up with our buddy Jake from Career Soldiers who was chillin on the beach. San Diego beaches = Babes everywhere. We met up with the Negative Charge guys at some BBQ where we ate a bunch of food for free. I felt kind of bad because I don't think we were invited but oh well. We played at the Che Cafe and that place is awesome. There was a good amount of kids there, we played 2nd and not that many people really seemed to be into it. The heads we brought down tore shit up pretty good. A fight broke out while we were playing and I pulled a guy off of the other guy which he was wailing on. He said everything was cool, so I turned around to go back to playing and he started wailing on this guy again..oh well at least I tried. Career Soldiers played last and killed it. We went back to Jakes to party, and we stayed up pretty late having a no shirt party (all dudes). I went with 5 guys to a burrito spot at 5am. I wont go into details, but an incident occurred where I generally thought one of us was going to get shot. Turns out some idiot thought it would be cool to pretend he had a gun, and was delt with appropriately. Went to bed about 6am and slept on a small couch and was woken up at 9am to Bobby Hill being loud like always.

I turn 24 on Saturday. I haven't been sleeping well so I feel older than I should. Come out to the VFW Hall in Orangvale on Saturday and help celebrate the anniversary of my birth.

thanks for reading,
Chris

Pullout So Cal Weekend

Pullout is going to be in Southern California next weekend. If you can make it out I promise a good time.



Possibly a 3rd show on the 13th. I have heard rumors it might be on a boat?? Yaddida

-Chris

and so it goes..

Not much new here. Pullout has been practicing/writing a lot and getting ready to record at Pus Cavern in Sacramento, most likely early June. I really like Joe at Pus Cavern, he is a great guy to work with and I look forward to collaborating with him again.

Pullout played in Oakland, Sacramento and Berkeley last weekend with Media Blitz from Orange County. There weren't a lot of people at the shows but it was a good warm up for us to get back into the swing of things. Sunday at Gilman probably had the least amount of people I have ever seen there. Last time I played Gilman St. there was almost 600 people and this time there was maybe 20...Maaaaaaybe. All my friends in bands know that's just how it goes sometimes. Oh well, it was still fun and I think we played our best that night. The good side of no one being there was the fact that the Whiskey Rebels practiced playing a bunch of their new songs live, and may I say...They shred..HARD.

Other than that I have been spending most of my time in line at the DMV, waiting for the bus and cursing the SF Giants. Off to another great season with two loses to the Dodgers...fuck. I saw unleaded gas for $3.97 in San Francisco today. Not a good sign for all my friends in touring bands this summer, good luck with that everyone. As if we weren't broke enough already. I suppose I really shouldn't complain though. At least we don't have a Tyrannical Religious Nut trying to steal our Oil, all the while cars are exploding on every street corner and bullets are consistently flying through the air. Support Arco, I read that they don't use Oil from the Middle East and their gas is always cheaper...strange right????




Does anyone read this? Do me a favor and drop a comment or something so I know I'm not ranting to myself.

Thanks,
Chris

Back to Normality

I have been trying to get back in the normal routine at my job. I stopped a robbery from happening the other night at work, other than that I have nothing new or exciting to report. I have had a lot of strange people hanging around in my life (not by choice) and I will be glad when that is over.

Pullout has been writing a lot of new songs and will be recording a full length hopefully in June. We have a ton of shows coming up, Northern and Southern California come and hang out.

Mar 28 2008 8:00P
your (hazmat) house w/media blits, plead the fifth oakland
Mar 29 2008 8:00P
VFW W/media blitz, the roustabouts+more orangevalle
Mar 30 2008 5:00P
924 GILMAN w/media blitz,WHISKEY REBELS!! berkeley
Apr 11 2008 7:00P
Studio Danza w/ media blitz Whitier, CA
Apr 12 2008 7:00P
Che Cafe w/ media blitz, Career Soldiers, Negative Charge San diego
Apr 19 2008 8:00P (My Birthday!)
VFW w/negative charge, sayaka, Whiskey Rebels!! orangevalle
May 7 2008 8:00P
THEE PARKSIDE w/ wednesday night heroes!!!!!! (bad ass maple leaf bro’s) san francisco
Jun 18 2008 8:00P
ORANGEVALLE VFW w/ the restarts, Mouth Sewn Shut+more tba orangevalle

Other then that I have been trying to listen to a lot of new music and watching Flight Of The Conchords Season 1 on DVD. If you haven't seen it yet, shame on you.

Good music I have been digging lately:
This Is Hell - Misfortunes
Chuck Ragan - Los faliz
Against Me! - As The Eternal Cowboy
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Bear Vs. Shark - Right Now, You're in the Best of Hands
Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
Modern Life Is War - Midnight in America
Knuckle Puck - Suicide Party
Converge - Jane Doe


Monster Squad DVD coming out soon, maybe this spring or this summer?

Biggie Smalls is the Illest.