Music of the Dick

Been awhile since there has been a posting on this blog and my apologies for that. Life can get in the way of the simplest pleasures, so taking time with a scotch and soda to write a "Greeting From the Whiskey Bottle" entry is rendered down like bacon fat for gumbo.

The DWhisks have been a busy bunch since the last posting on this blog with a few fun gigs and a couple of dogs to boot. Like the Mojo's gig with half the band missing and the stupid idea to stop at Denny's on the way home after doing shots.

Not saying any of the gigs sucked left hind- tit, but some gigs are a complete hoot and others lie down and barely moan like a drunk Irish girl you went home with on Saint Patty's day.

That's how it goes in the rock 'n' roll world...I guess, considering the gig we had this past June.

The DWhisks played the JackLords reunion gig at Nietzsche's closing up the show for the legendary band and in the process having a grand ol' time.

Kudos to John F Kennedy for throwing the event together and a special thanks for considering us in a line-up of some of the finest Rockabilly and Alt-Country bands in Buffalo, NY.

Plutos to drummer Thomas "T-Bone" LaChiusa for showing up and playing the gig with a flu bug, looking like a gangster zombie, and holding the puke in.

Could have turned real nasty in a drumbeat if you know what I mean.

And more recently, Dick Whiskey has seem to have found a home at the Elmwood Lounge as the band plays every six-weeks in the bar's music rotation. With a recent late June gig with the Seven Ounce Pony's, the band had a great time seeming to find an opportunity to do some originals and play a couple of new cover tunes.

Also nice to the legendary Lance Diamond give us a nod of approval at each gig.

So, the gigs, although have been few and far between this summer, haven't been lacking in energy and fun. With the newly added rhythm guitarist, Michael "Moonshine" Bisson (the bearded guy pictured left), the music of the DWhisks has become more layered and polished. The band is finding an identity and along the way continues to keep having fun, doing shots of whiskey throughout the set and shows a diversity in the music.

Thanks bearded guy on the left.

A summer hiatus? Hell no, just regrouping and writing new tunes and learning a few covers to be ready for a great fall season.

To the music of the Dick!

Matthew LaChiusa aka "The Reverend Johnny Scotch" is the front man for The DWhisks and really enjoys the fog machine at Mojo's. Tune in his "Greetings From The Whiskey Bottle" Podcast by going to Scotch and Soda

Super Bowl Halftime, Halfass Show

What is wrong with the NFL?

Seriously, the league has a good product, viewership is at record numbers, it has a international following surely surpassing baseball, soccer and all other sports.

Despite all this, they can't seem to get the Super Bowl halftime show together.

In case, you were hidden in a remote cave sleeping off winter, the Super Bowl came and went with an exciting victory by the frozen Cheeseheads of the North, the Green Bay Packers.

Set in between two halves of the great championship game of the Gridiron, is the much anticipated (and sometimes controversial) halftime show. Diverse acts graced this monumental TV program with eye-candy galore, fake dancers acting as groupies and a big finale featuring explosions, fireworks and pyrotechnics.

Great stuff, huh?

Not really. Super Bowl halftime shows suck and this year was no exception.

The LA based, hip-hoppers, Black Eyed Peas ,were chosen to headline this show. Now get this straight, I do like some forms of rap and hip-hop. It has a place in shaping American music. But their performance on this highly viewed, stage o' stage of events, was a big, stinky turd floating in the toilet bowl of mediocrity. The performance reminded me of badly done hip-hop karaoke at a trashy bar with a poor sound system.



Okay, so if you managed to watch this entire turdy segment, good for you. If you click this pooshoot show off at 5 minutes you missed the addition of guest "musicians" because those associated with the production felt you need more turd to bite off.

Usher falls from the sky in his janitorial whites, awkwardly frees himself from his chains and proceeds to do nothing but splits and sings "ooh, ah, ooh." Leaving one to think, "What the f**k?"

Slash appears from the bowels of Hell to do something on guitar. Not sure what exactly it is but he appears to improve the fine quality of this halftime show.

But what can one expect? When producers chose Christina Aguilaria to sing and promptly screw up the National Anthem, the bar was set low.


So why does it have to be this way?

Are the halftime producers and the NFL convinced this type of entertainment will keep the TV home viewers focused on the set for commercials? Most folks are relieving themselves, get beers & food for the upcoming second-half and BS about the game or the pool they've entered.

Do these producers believe that these halftime shows are generating interest from non-football viewers? The game is the interest not poorly executed music from Usher, Slash and The Black Eyed Peas. The game is turned off when the second-half kickoff happens if not sooner.

Why not bring in a solid act who has some regional ties to the city hosting the Super Bowl? They could play a clean, well-executed set without the high def, badly choreographed groupies infused, overdone fluff that seems to accompany these productions.

The truth of the matter is that the NFL is a multi-million dollar business. That high profile requires associations to be in the same financial class. These partnerships represent a like-mindedness that does not necessarily reflect taste or quality. They represent the bottom-line.

Us fans? Well, we have settle for these halfass, halftime shows with little expectation of a good production.

Oh well, it gives us something else to bitch about on Monday other than a crappy Super Bowl matchup or lame commericials.


Matthew LaChiusa aka Rev Johnny Scotch can be heard on his podcast "Greetings from the Whiskey" Podcast by clicking the following link: http://www.dwhiskspod.info/dwpod/Greetings_From_the_Whiskey_Bottle/rss.xml.

The use of Adolf Hitler in this blog does not mean this site supports the views of this murderous asshole or anyone associated with him.