It was definitely a Monday

As most of you know, I'm a big champion of Relay for Life, having held events both at my club and on my home island. I have also donated 100% of my tips from several Saturday sets to Relay. I am a member of the Spinners for Life team but will volunteer my services for any team that asks. Except one. I was asked to wrap up a four-day extravaganza of entertainment sponsored by another Relay team. The scheduled slot was later than I usually work on a weeknight, but the cause was worthy and I agreed to a 6-9PM slot on Monday.

I arrived at the event venue about an hour before my scheduled set to listen to the live musician preceding me and send out notices to my Groups. Quite a few folks TP'ed in immediately, since I told them that the live act was awesome (he was). About 10 minutes before 6PM, I was informed by one of the event promoters that the musician would be playing an extra half hour because "he does 90 minutes". Obviously, I had already sent notices, etc. No apology was given. I IMed the Group to advise them of my later start time and continued to enjoy the live show.

There were about 25 people at the venue in addition to the folks that I had brought. I should have taken it as an omen, but at 6:23 my cable went out. I switched to my backup DSL ISP and was back at the venue by 6:25. The live act ran until 6:38, when I was notified that my stream was live. Within 10 minutes, the event promoters and their friends left. I didn't get an IM to the effect of "hey, RL calls, we're heading out, thanks for playing" or anything of the sort. The promoter said in open chat "I'm heading to X, anyone want a TP?" No mention of the DJ who was (finally) spinning, no thanks, no apology for the delays, nothing. SOB's TPed the entire audience out.

Well, tell ya what, next time you ask for a favor, the answer will be "fuck no". There is no excuse for abandoning an act who you have booked to perform. My RL schedule is hectic, and my DJ slots are usually booked at least 2 weeks in advance. My time is just as valuable as that of the live musicians. I have no tolerance for club owners who fail to do their part in promoting me, and an event coordinator who does not even extend the courtesy of attending my performance shows an arrogance and disrespect that is noteworthy. Any further bookings from you will require my standard appearance fee UP FRONT.

The set was not a total disaster, however, thanks to some loyal listeners who stuck it out & stayed for the set. They basically had a private DJ, since their requests went in queue immediately! A thousand thanks, I ended up having fun after all. And between their tips (which I paid into the kiosk) and donations sent by those who could not attend, Relay collected another L$3000. The other good news is, I have sets scheduled every day this week, so check my profile for times & venues and come on out!!

For two hours on Saturday, the Funeral Home was turned into a zoo!! Creatures of all kinds, both natural & mythical descended on Freakheim for a rockin' set of animal themed music from the fabulous Ozark Hax!



I really hope everyone noticed the "Beware of Dragon" sign!!!



Following cleanup, the Saturday Shred kicked off, with three hours plus of music featuring female artists. Showcasing the women who rock our musical world is always one of my favorite sets!

Next week's theme is 'Under the Covers"....three hours of cover tunes, the wackier the better!

On Friday, 23 May, Freakheim Funeral Home welcomed DJ Ishimaru Kohime to the family! Ishi put on a seriously rockin' set and we even had a visit from a Transformer! Ishi will have a regular slot on Fridays from 4-6 Pm SLT, so put it on your calendar to come down to Freakheim and hear her unique mix of Hard Rock, Metal, JRock and more!!!



From 6-9 PM, DJ Trident Runningbear spun an "old-school" set...but no rocking chairs were allowed!! Classic Rock & Metal flowed for 3 straight hours, tunes we all remembered but hadn't thought of in ages....some since my last 8-track deck died! Tri's musical tastes are as diverse as mine, and I just can't tear myself away from his sets. It was great to be able to take the headphones off & run the sound thru the studio monitors!!

Opening week went really well, with all sets as scheduled. Attendance has been a little sparse early in the week, but it should pick up as more folks get accustomed to us being open. I am also working on adding a second set on weekdays. Currently I'm looking for DJs for 4-6PM SLT Tuesday through Friday, so if that fits your schedule let me know. I am also bringing in more live acts on Saturdays, so keep an eye on the calendar.

This past Saturday marked the debut of Ozark Hax at Freakheim, and it kicked ass! The theme was Asian wear, and everybody looked awesome! I saw a few folks I hadn't seen in a long time, so I spent most of the set catching up with them. Thanks for coming out! The female contest ended in a 4-way tie, the first time that's happened at Freakheim!


Following Ozark's set, the theme for the Saturday Shred was "Redneck Nite". This theme was by request and was definitely different from my usual sets here. I played Southern Rock, Country, Bluegrass and requests. There was also some cow-tipping going on, as well as the bouncing cattle. I was literally LOL in the studio! Though there weren't a lot of folks at the set, everyone who came had fun. Both the male and female contests ended in ties, 2-way for male and 3-way for female. SL musician Ictus Belford and his lovely wife Carrie Laysan dropped by after Ictus' gig and we all traded Redneck credentials. Look for Ictus to play Freakheim soon, I can't get enough of his live sets!



Next week's Shred returns to more familiar music as we celebrate the women of Rock-n-Roll with a Rockergrrrlzzz! theme. I'll be spinning tunes by female bands and bands with female singers or musicians in them. Bring your favorite Rockergrrrl requests & I'll slide 'em in for ya! The contest will be Rockerwear, so just show up in your rockin' best & get on the boards. Remember, if the page on the contest board fills up, I increase the prize!

Grand Opening was a roaring success!!

I'd like to personally say thank you to each and every one of you who came out to the Grand Opening of Freakheim Funeral Home. The party started at 10AM SLT and went nonstop until 9PM SLT. Yes, there were a few glitches (special thanks to April for the last-minute kickoff fill) but all-in-all we rocked the joint!! The RAILS played live from Toronto, Canada at 3PM and sounded superb! Due to ISP issues, Sam couldn't make her 4PM slot, so I stayed on the tables 5 hours straight and had a great time doing it!!!My Li'l Sis hosted the 4-6 event, and the 6-9 event started out as the Giant Lolli Paddle Battle 2008!! Insane fun, for sure. I made some new friends throughout the day, and brought two more DJs on board, look for them on the calendar soon! In the end, it's all about the music, and plenty of that was on hand. A relaxed, low-lag atmosphere where Freaks & Nutters can concentrate on the tunes & the camaraderie without the BS. For those of you who couldn't make it, come on by when you can, you'll be glad you did!!