| FEBRUARY 2001 Saturday 17 February - The Bugsy's Bug-Out. Some 13 bands were massed for a 2-12pm marathon at Bugsy's Beat Bar. A late booking, Zen Arcade managed to secure an 8:15 slot, immediately after Starseed. Starseed were cool - also in the Z2H stable. The full house was grabbed violently by the first power chords of Not About You and held tightly for the remainder of a crisp confident half-hour set that also showcased Step Back, Sister, Crazy Over You and Take Out the Trash. The sound was excellent, the audience danced wildly - some nice girlies included - and all agreed this was one of the best sets to date. I was pleasantly surprised by Gauge, who had a new singer/acoustic guitarist. Their stuff reminded me in places of Bob Mould. Kudos to Z2H for managing the event like clockwork - only 15 minutes late over 13 acts - some achievement! |
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| D-BASS DIARY |
| MARCH 2001 Saturday 17 March - A private party for Kimmi's 30th Birthday. Everyone dressed up to the nines, in serious glam gear. A great party - everyone was well trashed by the end of it, worn out from dancing to my own fiendishly concocted compilations, with titles such as Disco Hell etc. The band delivered a "gift" set, to the general delight of the partygoers (my mom and Steve beat a hasty retreat from the volume!). Even Phil was moved by the kick in the ass he received to revise his position on the band, after his lukewarm reception to the demo. The set includes Ode, Not About You, Lopsided Affair, Crazy, Jammez, Trash, Sister, Up and a slightly shortened version of Step Back. |
| Wednesday 21 February - Zen Arcade was interviewed on RAU Radio by the delectable DJ Koula. To our intense annoyance, the station wasn't expecting us - a mix-up meant that they were ready for Starseed, who arrived after we finished our interview. Koula did manage to maintain, to her credit. Crazy, Step Back and Sister were aired. MARCH 2001 Friday 16 March - The Abelarde Sanction's 6th Birthday Bash. After Afrikaans bands Brixton Moord & Roof Orkes (dry biltong) and Plank (wet biltong, in spite of a semi-interesting contribution from Levannah of Q-Zoo)., Zen Arcade pulled out all the stops. The new song, Gunston Tease, was given its second airing. A lack of subtlety prevented the song from going across as well as we would have liked - still more polishing needed! The band was followed by the ever-entertaining Damn the Icebergs and Sharkbrother. |
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| Friday 23 March - Final edits with Lorenz (Zero2Hero) for Not About You, Step Back and Up at Limitless Audio, a cool indie studio in 6th St, Parktown North. Some primo ganja rendered us virtually insensible by the end of the evening, but not before we were satisfied that the edits were righteous. These were delivered to Pete Pearlson, who was understandably starting to get impatient - the mastering process had now dragged out over 3 weeks! |
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| James, Iain with feather boa hair, Alistair as Austen Powers complete with teflon hair and glitter pants. |