Once, driving through Florida Northward, we came across a sort of roadblock. Traffic had been narrowed to one lane and was moving at about 2 miles an hour.

We were really hoping that this wasn't going to be a stop and search thing. Eric was driving and he was stone cold sober as always when behind the wheel. Nonetheleass...I am sure any sensible person can sympathize with not wanting to be searched in the middle of the night by State Troopers.

ANYWAY, as we get to where the cops are there are a bunch of people milling around and one cop standing there with a flashlight illuminating something on the ground. When we drive past he is shining his light on A CHOPPED OFF HUMAN ARM.

No one said anything for a few minutes then Tucker..."Did you SEE THAT? It was an ARM"...etc etc etc....

Years ago I came up with the idea to write a song for pay for anyone on any subject. SOON I am gonna actually DO that. Keep an eye peeled.

I have decided to put up the studio record I Am Not Job which was released under the "band name" Illegalteenagebikini.  Why was the BAND name different? Eric plays on the record, I play  on the record, Tucker is on one song...Well, the reason is a peculiar mental breakdown that afflicts many musicians on the low end of the food chain--The idea that "well if I change the NAME it will be different". I also confess there may even be a little of the "it may SELL more" in there too.

It doesn't work. Hell it doesn't work even HIGHER up the food chain. "Former members of..." is never a good way to sell something. It is at best a tertiary benefit. Sometimes it gets you reviews and press where you wouldn't have gotten it but it really does nothing to make people want to listen.

ANYWAY. I Am Not Job is REALLY the fourth Thanatos record. I will put it up here and you will be able to BUY it--for the price of $6 incuding shipping! (in the USA...for you foreigners I will have to think of something....pr

I was thinking today about the as yet unreleased Exterminating Angel album. Among the bits of information that fired through my brain was the inescapable fact that I recorded the first three tracks for this record in 2001. They were finished in auspicious fashion as well--one track a DAY for three days in Santa Barbara with Ashkelon Sain and myself....Seemed like a new record would be done BAM BAM BAM. But it wasn't. I wrote songs, they sucked. I recorded demos, they sucked. I intended to record, if I recall correctly with Greg Lucas again.

I moved back to Chicago from Miami in 2005 and began working on it, off and on, again...with Tim Larson (and Eric on bass). It was finished, if I recall in late 2008., maybe 2009 and was supposed to be released (as noted on the "About Thanatos" page) but never has been. I initially began this site with the idea of posting it here. And I may still do so for at least part of it.

BUT I am also thinking about making it available as a limited edition of 300 on CD. The CD would have extra tracks --or different tracks anyway--and you would need to pre-order. CAUSE I don't have any money to get it pressed or PAY the designer!

Right now, as I type this I am listening to this show. I like it actually. The recording is decent, the band is ALL over the place (mainly cause of me I think). I had some sort of throat infection and my voice was sort of roasted. BUT I still manage to sing ok. This "roasted throat" thing happened a lot with me. Once in South Carolina I think I ruptured a vocal chord. Blood was being horked up and I could barely talk. It was mid way through a 16-17 date tour and  I was thinking "Oh man, this tour is over..." And I started downing beers. Well, next day, throat was cured. Ergot I surmise that the cure for a ruptured vocal chord is beer.

But I digress...This show will go up here this week but there are a couple of songs we mangled so badly I could not, in good conscience, inflict on anyone.  But most of it is worth a listen. It is a shame because one of my favorite songs, What Happens Next, is one we massacre...I might put it up anyway cause the main mangler of the song is me and my roasted voice.  There are some other songs that we perform not so well but that we never played again...so I enjoy listening to them.

One note...The song Blisters--another favorite--we play wrong and out of tune every single time we ever played it cause there is some funky tuning which no one can seem to remember.

I have been thinking about doing a "new" live Thanatos thing that goes more back to the old sort of stuff--more acoustic, more dark folky. I think about this but when it comes to putting it into practice it gets tricky. Where are we gonna play? That is always the conundrum...Sure we can play here in Chicago but that is a bit lame. One city? BAH! NOW, with a pared down band and no drummer (sorry Tommy, the old Thanatos has no drummer) we can get places more easily but who is gonna book us?

Interesting to think about. If I could come up with three or four shows I would do it.

I think the bottom lounge show will be next on my list of "live shit" to post. I was chatting with some folks about all the live stuff I have--and I have tons of old shows. NOW, that said, they are all on DAT and I have no DAT player (who does anymore?). But I will find one and work on those. They will need some work. The stuff posted here certainly needed some.

The songs sound totally different back when. No drummer, songs were slower. When you drive around the country playing at nightclubs where a significant portion of the audience is DISAPPOINTED (to put it mildly) that some crappy BAND is playing on their goth night (Lord did I hate playing nightclub nights) you eventually have to turn up the volume!

I want to get up on this site, at least to listen to--the last show Thanatos played with William Tucker (here in Chicago at Lounge Ax).  I recall that Tucker was cranky. I was cranky, Eric was late...and Vince was his usual, unflappably pleasant self.

I also think I am going to combine the pictures. Too many pictures and no need to have them in separate places!!!!

When I make the CD The Exterminating Angel available I wonder how many people would actually want a physical copy. I know I would but then I am weird. I also tend to lose all my CDs or lend them out and forget I did. But I like having SOMETHING. Wondering what people thing but since no one, as yet, looks at this I doubt I will get much feedback!

Yes, the Thanatos site is actually up but now I am wondering what comes next. Music, of course, but there are some issues to sort out (publishing and more).  SO I may put up some other, already published stuff first.

UGH legalities are such a pain. I usually would ignore them but then I would get pissed when something went wrong. One smart- aleck friend suggested I needed to post more pictures of myself since I put up so FEW. HA HA. Hey when you look like me and you find a picture that looks HUMAN you get those photos out to everyone you can.

So while I am sorting stuff out, keep coming here and tell your friends.