Ok, here we be again. This is dave. Wazzup? Hope yer doing groovy. Today we're finishing up the main vox on the last four songs - including the infamous and mysterious cover song! I ate mcdonalds drive through spicy chicken sandwich on the way in here and now I have severe stomach cramps. I hate that fucking place. So why you ask did I eat there? Good bloody question, mate. Oi! Oi! Oy!

Now Don is doing something with the patch bay, moving patch chords all over the place in the patch bay - basically, rerouting sounds to different tracks to make more room, etc.. Now he's telling me I have to go sing. But as we all know, recording albums is all about girls from a rap video and coke - you know, blow, tootskie, devil's dandruff, nose candy, booger sugar, charlie, gack. None here. Damn, g. We better call Rev and get some large bundles of green money to snort up. Word.

Steve and Brian are doing Iron Chef impersonations.

Steve just took a picture of my pool company shirt - this is the pool supply and maintenance company in Fredericksburg that my friends Ron and Eva run. Ron and Eva came to our rescue a few nights ago when we were practicing the cover song and I couldn't make out all the words. They went online and found them and faxed them here at something like 1 am.

I FIND THE FLAVOR TOO HARSH. I THINK MANY OF YOUR DISHES TASTE STRANGE IN MY MOUTH.
I FEEL I DID MY BEST. I WOULD HAVE LIKED MORE TIME, THOUGH. ONE HOUR IS TOO SHORT.
I LIKE WHAT THE CHALLENGER HAS DONE. HE HAS A BOLD STYLE, AND EEL IS THE PERFECT INGREDIENT TO SHOWCASE HIS SKILL.

Steve just told me that "Can't Explain" by the Who (duh) was released on this day 37 years ago. I love the who, god what a great songwriter Pete Townshend is. And underappreciated in my mind is Roger Daltrey's vocal skill.
Now these clowns are playing "can't explain" on a guitar in the control room and substituting in words from the Iron Chef.

QUISAN?
GO AHEAD, ODA…
THE CHALLENGER SAYS HE IS USING CAT PISS AS A BINDING AGENT IN HIS SEA MONSTER SOUP.
MMMMMMM…CAT PISS IS AN EXCELLENT CHOICE….IT WILL HELP SOFTEN THE SEA MONSTER'S SPINE.

I wish they would stop the Iron Chef thing. It's really getting old……

Hey again. Brian and I just did an interview with Aimee Rush for her new fanzine Bean Soda. This will be for her second issue, due out in March or April. She is a very nice person, engaged to our pal Chris Condayan . Chris used to be in the Suspects and is now in Spitfires United, a really cool D.C. oi punk band. Brian and Steve just finished producing and recording Spitfire's first full-length record. No label for it yet, but I highly recommend them if you like oi or punk. That's not because he is our friend but because the band fucking rocks.

Chris also is one of the bookers of a really cool nightclub called Kaffa House. Not too long ago I played a solo acoustic set there, including some Irish ballads, Irish drinking songs and acoustic versions of Down By Law songs. Brian helped me as guitar tech that night, which was incredibly helpful since my semi hollow body guitars kept going out of tune in the heat.

Ok, now we are going to listen to the original version of the cover, to see how it compares to ours! D'OH!

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS………..WOMBAT!!
AND I SEE THE IRON CHEF HAS SENT AN ASSISTANT RUNNING UP TO GET THE HEAD OF THE WOMBAT….
ONLY ONE OF THOSE PER WOMBAT, I GUESS…HAHAHAHA
MMM…WOMBAT HAS A VERY SMOKEY FLAVOR…IF PREPARED WITH FIRE, THAT IS.
NOW THE CHALLENGER IS PULLING THE FEET OFF THE MARSUPIAL….
YES, THE FEET ARE QUITE POISONOUS AND WILL KILL YOU INSTANTLY IF EATEN…
OH, I DON'T LIKE DEATH…..NOT ONE BIT.

Heading home at midnight, and back in tomorrow to finish the tracking for the new album. I feel very tired. But very excited too. Gotta drive home for over an hour to my town. I just bought the soundtrack for "The Harder They Come" and I think that will be the driving music for the evening.