In the summer between 7th and 8th grade, Bill had moved away, Ian and I didn't really hang out, and Pam was busy with some older man. I was bored and looking for friends. I found one near my house, while skating around and he was doing the same. Let's call him Jed . Jed was a country-boy redneck type. His house was filled with crosses and American flags ...

In late 1994, Nine Inch Nails rolled through Phoenix  and I was ecstatic to get a chance to see them. I remember a kid in one of my classes telling me about various NIN shows that he'd caught, and it seemed like . As with the Nirvana story, NIN played our State Fair that year. Opening for them was the Jim Rose Circus, ...

Since I've already posted one harrowing story from the 8th grade, I figured I'd follow up with another. This one is way less intense and depressing, but it's a point of frustration and contention with me. I get that I don't "look smart" (whatever the fuck that means, but it's been said many times), and I don't necessarily blame people for thinking I'm ...

I'd been planning it for awhile. Spurred on by the reactions I saw when a new kid joined our "crew" in my Sophomore year - James - who had his tongue pierced. All the girls wanted to kiss him. He was somehow instantly sexy, by virtue of a steel bar in his mouth. Not to say that he was unattractive -- but I think the tongue piercing helped. I ...

(if you missed Part 1, Part 2, and/or Part 3, you're gonna be confused) UPDATE : I've added a video of a full Godless performance right over here, if you're interested. Throughout my Senior year, I continued doing Godless shows, while working on my own band - Terratism - with friends of mine. This didn't really impact my ability to perform with ...

(if you missed Part 1 and/or Part 2, you're gonna be lost) UPDATE : I've added a video of a full Godless performance right over here, if you're interested. Over time, Godless had picked up a pretty good following. The goth kids would come out in full force, and I got to know a few of them and sort of embed myself in the goth ...

(if you missed Part 1, you're gonna be lost) UPDATE : I've added a video of a full Godless performance right over here, if you're interested. Over the course of a few months, we performed quite a bit. I had to be sneaked in to a few of the venues, being that I was barely 17 and the rest of the band was in their early ...

Godless was an industrial band in Phoenix in the late 90s, of which I was made a semi-member. Technically I was never part of the band, but I was associated with the band and I performed with them as what amounts to, basically, stage decor. Not that I minded it, I had a blast and I learned a lot and made some lifelong friends out of the whole experience. I wouldn't feel ...

It really wasn't my intention to be in my mid-late 30s primarily as a web designer, secondarily as a comedian. I thought I was supposed to be a lead singer in a band. In some alternate universe, I'm screamin' out the hits. Maybe in that alternate universe, I can actually sing. So, how did I end up making websites for the past ~20 years? Well, it's kind of about a girl. Odd ...

Yes, I'm that old. Yes, it was fucking unreal. Yes, it was probably not unlike how my parents would've felt seeing The Beatles in their prime. Since the "definitive rock doc" of Kurt Cobain will be released soon, this feels timely. I was about to turn 15. I was a freshman in high school. I had recently made friends with a man I'll refer to throughout these stories ...