THE BROTHERS OF CHICO DUSTY

It’s no secret that my wiener gets girth from listening to The Black Keys. Not that I would blow them or anything, but if their sound was phallic in some magical way, yeah I’d probably go down on it and totally tap that. That being said I’d like to take the time to apologize to the people who I love and respect in my family, if you’re reading this. Moving on, The Brothers of Chico Dusty was masterfully spliced together by a cat hailing from Nashville dubbed Wick-It The Instigator and his crew of six DJ’s deep. After mixing the Black Keys’ first major track to ever have serious radio play “Tighten Up” off of their album called Brothers and Big Boi’s track “Shutterbug” snagged off of his solo LP Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty, needless to say, dude got some serious street cred. So “The Brothers of Chico Dusty was obviously the next step.” Retorted the early to the party Wick-It. Well played sir. Well played indeed.

Now one would say, “Of course you’d dig the tracks Vinnie, their injected with rugged rock sound that is the Black Keys.” And I would come back with the inevitable and explicitly lucid “Duh.” But it has opened up an attentive ear to an entirely new sound and it’s got me rumbling over and over “I got a back-up plan to my back-up plan, to back-up my back-up plan” thanks to “Mashville’s” Wick-It crew, Big Boi and The Black Keys. Wicked cool, D.O.C. fo sho.

Listen and download here:

http://mashville.bandcamp.com/album/the-brothers-of-chico-dusty

THE BOW OUT

It’s been days since I’ve rambled off the adventures of “Vinnie and the Heinous Gallbladder.” Hmm change Vinnie to Harry and I think we can keep that series going. Any balls, I was released Monday morning and with help from loved ones and the hospital I made my way to Hampton Inn. I made my farewell to Poudre and the incredible staff, Meghan, Suzie, Jessica from billing (and our awesome chat), Lindsey, Jake and many other dope individuals. I kept my pump warm while I was at the hotel. I checked in like a breeze and passed right out. I woke up later in the evening and decided to shop for some sundries and eats. Kind of a mistake. I had to walk half a block but in the 15 degree weather and crazy gusts, it could have just as well been a mile. But I snagged up some soup, apple juice and some other miscellaneous grub, popped some Narco and called it a night.

Tuesday was a blur with Giselle, sleep, movies, losing my nerve on an old man and venting. But today finally came and I’m glad because it’s been rough. My days have been lonely and it’s a bit strange being completely alone. I normally keep to myself and don’t like people around, but this is a different feeling entirely. I found myself hanging out a starbucks trying to spark up a conversation with your garden variety passer-byer. I just needed that connection, but I miss my favorites back home. Thank goodness for the flight later tonight.

The good news is that I’m feeling tip top and I could probably finish the race with the RAW crew but I would be the special needs kid and I’m not a hundy that those needs could be obliged. So I’m asking my trainer to throw in the towel and I’m goin goin, back back to Cali Cali where I frequently floss hoes at Roscoe’s… Or at least Biggie did. I can’t wait.

FORT COLLINS

Mehgan my night nurse helped coddle me through the night and the morning. I may have overworked myself yesterday because when I woke up this morning I was extremely sore. But cut to a few hours later after a shower, jello and some vicotin I’m feeling right as rain. Suzie came in about 9ish and she’s been pushing me everyday to get a move on  and to get better. Now I’m completely unhooked from oxygen, my I.V. and I’m walking the hospital all on my own. My scar looks as if it belongs on my stomach, with the 14 staples excluded, and only really bothers me when hiccup. I may be on schedule to be released tomorrow as long as I make that transition from liquids to solids tomorrow. So far things are looking up.

SEATTLE

This being our first hotel stay it was somewhat more comfortable than couch surfing, but it just so happened to be a bit more suffocating. But a couple of Tylenol P.M.’s and I shut that party down about 3 am in the morning. I woke to some milk and graham crackers with Matt, Vy and Heidi  milling around the nearest coffee pot as we headed to our first destination. Seattle’s space needle. Matt, Vy and I picked up some really great Unipass Jet video footage, which will be up shortly. Heidi on the other hand, sat this round out due to her illness.

We shot over to meet up with Eve Boyer, Seattle’s Raw coordinator, for a walk through of the venue and to meet up with a local muralist before our meet and greet later that night. Cut to the end of the night because from the moment I arrived I began a four hour process of shooting and conducting interviews thanks to all the hard work of Eve Boyer of booking. But again, fast forward, I had a drink with Eve out of spite. She is one cool chick along with the people who joined us for that drink. The shot of whiskey rounded the Seattle trip quite nicely.

I’d then continue to talk about the ride from Seattle to Salt Lake City to Fort Collins, but I doubt I’ve spent enough time in either city to really formulate an opinion. But from what it looks like Matt, Vy and Heidi had a blast in Fort Colins and Denver from the performing street arts to shooting their pistolas up in the air, it hardly seemed to be a dull moment. More on my Fort Collins stay in a few hours.

PORTLAND

I took on some pain killers and new years eve while in the city that’s known for birthing Mel Blanc, the actor best known for his voice as Bugs Bunny. In addition to that silly rabbit, Portland has some of the best people around. So easy to talk to and quick to laugh, it became a trip favorite. I unfortunately laid up a good amount of my days full of pain. I also spent an evening editing instead of partying with the rest of the gang and PSH’s cousin Josh and his mates. The day came to the meet and greet and I finally met Mercy our Portland photographer who I’d connected with a month prior along with the Portland Staff at a super sweet coffee house/ bar. Mercy was  a righteous chick and she snapped a pretty cool photo of me while shooting a interview on the cold streets of Portland.

A few Portland accomplishments: Successfully learned the unipass Jet script, got the gang to stop chain smoking in the car, learned some Rubin skills and shot a mini cooking show, and last but not least, I met Paul Bunyan. He’s really a down to earth cat and doesn’t let his fame go to his dome. I can’t wait to go back and have more of a blast in the future.