From the Drummers Throne!

Gothoween Edition

Happy Halloween, Everyone! This is my favorite holiday for all the reasons you can imagine. As many good and loyal Rolling Blackheads (errr… will come up with something better later) know, we played Dr. Rick’s awesome Gothoween party this past Saturday. Needing a new costume both for that show/party and for handing out candy tonight, I drew from my pain as a Seattle Mariners fan to conjure up the Ghost of World Series Never (think A Christmas Carol with sports misery baked into it):

 

I’m proud to say that a few folks at the party got the reference and were even kind enough to offer up their condolences (2026 is gonna be our year!). I’m also proud to say that I kept the mask on while playing our entire thundering and well-received set, thinking that would simply be some fun Halloween schtick. It went over even better. Afterwards, a lot of people came up to me with props and disbelief that I played the whole set with that mask! Never did that before and maybe I should more often. There are a lot of potential benefits:

  • No one saw me wince at errors or make any goofy faces during a challenging fill. (That’s better for everyone, trust me…)
  • After seeing some video of the show, the mask face rocking back and forth in time was indeed pretty fun looking (schtick confirmed!).
  • While I could see just fine, none of my fellow bandmates could confirm eye-contact. So, I had plausible deniability for missing a change! 
  • The mask did however make my face ever sweatier than ever. Luckily, the elongated chin acted as a gutter system that diverted all that sweat into a stream on to my chest. Otherwise, drowning was a distinct possibility. 

I’m starting to think that the Slipknot guys might have been on to something. We don’t have a show currently scheduled for this Christmas season. But the next time we do, I might have to order up one of these bad boys:

 

Anyway, the Gothoween party was over the top as usual. Great crowd, dedicated music room, plenty of liquid refreshments, tons of fun. It’s a fundraiser that Dr. Rick organizes every year. There’s always a solid line-up of bands including Bunkermen featuring Dr. Rick himself. We feel blessed to have been invited to play there. Anyone in the general SF area should think about checking it out next year. Let me put it to y’all this way; during our set the supporting crowd included vampires, genies, mad hatters, ghouls, fallen business tycoons and a pole-dancing raven. I freaking love Halloween……

 

Have a fun and safe evening, Everyone! 

 

- Erick

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