THE REAL ME (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)

The Real Me is a song from Trinity-X, and like Kwik Shop Commando, it was a big part of our set list when playing clubs in 2000-2001 and was also one of my favorites.

The Real Me appears, along with Swallow, Godless America, This Man, and a live version of Limit, on the 2000 release, No Apologies:

This was a demo we recorded at Guttersnipe Studios and was engineered by John Evans and features the very first time I recorded backing vocals on a release.

I never did backing vocals live, or at practice, only because we only ever had the one microphone. And considering that Derek was the lead singer, we kinda had to let him use it.

Stream The Real Me and No Apologies now on all the music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

YouTube Music

Amazon Music

Or download a copy for free at Atomic Zombie Records on Bandcamp.

KWIK SHOP COMMANDO (LYRIC VIDEO)

Kwik Shop Commando is a song from Trinity-X, it was a big part of our set list when playing clubs in 2000-2001, and it's one of my favorite songs, and not just from those I played on, it's one of my favorites in general.

My one big regret in life is that we never got a studio recording of the song.

This live version is the closest we ever got, and it was recorded live off the sound board, along with the entire set, at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas sometime in 2000.

We hadn't even planned on recording that night. If I remember correctly, the sound guy liked us, had a tape deck connected to the sound board, and decided to record the set. Then, of course, he gave us a tape.

That became what is now streaming as:

Trinity-X - Live at the Bottleneck:

The Kwik Shop, I should also mention, is a real convenience store, though if you have one in your area, you don't need me to tell you that.

In the early days of Trinity-X, we would often drive in to the local Kwik Shop in Eudora to hang out during a break at practice and get sodas and hot dogs or frozen burritos and such. It practically became a regular thing, meaning we were in there two to three evenings a week.

Anyway, I'm very much enamored with everything on the Live at the Bottleneck album because I think it's most of our best stuff -- meaning that if we had been able to play three or four more songs that night, it would have been ALL of our best stuff -- and I'm really glad it survived through the years because it's the only place I have now to listen to songs like Kwik Shop Commando or Daisy (another great song. Seriously, you should give the album a listen. Look below for more information).

One last thing before I let you go, just a little Easter Egg (I guess). I drop a stick during the song. Can you find the spot?

Stream Kwik Shop Commando and Live at the Bottleneck now on all the music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

YouTube Music

Amazon Music

Or download a copy for free at Atomic Zombie Records on Bandcamp.

TAKE A LOOK AROUND BY TRINITY-X

I made another music video.

This time for the band, Trinity-X, which I was in from 1990 to 1993, then again from 2000 to 2001. I was, of course, playing the drums.

This is a Lyric Video for Take a Look Around, the third song on a four song EP from October 1993 titled: Self.

It's also my favorite of the four. I can't believe that EP is 29 years old this month!

All music and lyrics by Derek Neibarger.

Derek Neibarger - vocals, bass

Paul Hagedorn - guitar

Steeven R. Orr - drums

Recorded at Mercy Record Studio in 1993. Engineered by Robert Rebeck.

Download Take a Look Around and Self for free at Atomic Zombie Records on Bandcamp, or stream now on all the music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

YouTube Music

Amazon Music

MUSIC VIDEO: DOESN'T MATTER BY LARRY

Back in the 90s there was a show on local cable channel 6 in Lawrence, Kansas.

It was called Silhouettes and it featured local arts and the local music scene.

Back in 1995, sometime after the first Larry demo was finished, we were invited on to create some basic music videos for each of the three songs on the demo: Hole, Doesn't Matter, and Understand.

Here is Doesn't Matter.

Enjoy.

Find All Inclusive on all the major music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon Music

YouTube Music

MUSIC VIDEO: HOLE BY LARRY

Back in the 90s there was a show on local cable channel 6 in Lawrence, Kansas.

It was called Silhouettes and it featured the local arts and music scene.

Back in 1995, sometime after the first Larry demo was finished, we were invited on to create some basic music videos for each of the three songs on the demo: Hole, Doesn't Matter, and Understand.

Here is Hole.

Enjoy.

Find All Inclusive on all the major music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon Music

YouTube Music

VIDEO: THE COMMERCIAL FOR THE ALL INCLUSIVE FROM LARRY

This started out as a parody of a commercial from 1980 for "Original Gold: The Greatest soft rock hits of the '70s!"

But, I wasn't able to quite pull it off, so it turned into what it is now.

Enjoy!

The Original Gold Commercial - youtu.be/v1conIS2xNg

VIDEO: TRINITY-X LIVE AT THE GRAND EMPORIUM IN 1993

Here is Trinity-X, live at The Grand Emporium in Kansas City, Missouri.

This is, I believe, sometime in 1993.

What do I remember about the Grand Emporium?

Only that the sound booth was actually a room on the second floor that looked out over the stage, which is where we had the video camera.

I also know that I wasn't quite 21 yet and so I had to sit in the sound booth at any time we weren't loading equipment in, setting up, performing, tearing down, and loading equipment out.

Also, the night we played, we changed our name from Trinity-X to Rage, because, as Derek put it when he announced the name change during the show: "If the shoe fits."

We remained Rage for maybe a week? Possibly less?

MUSIC VIDEO: SENECA BY LARRY

Hey, look at that, I went and made another music video.

This is the song "Seneca" by the band Larry.

I was (as I'm sure I've said many, many, many, many times before) the drummer for Larry from 1993 to 1996, and in that time we recorded three demos, three songs per demo, for a total of nine songs.

Seneca was a song we recorded for our second demo, which we recorded at Mercy Studios in Lawrence, Kansas in January of 1995 (I thinks). Robert Rebek was the engineer, and an amazing one at that.

I made this on my iPhone using video we shot on an old camcorder during the two days we were in the studio.

Robert, my friend, I didn't know how you might feel about appearing in this music video (we got plenty of Robert on tape), so I left you out . . . well, except for the two or three moments where we see the back of your head.

Sorry, dude. Just know that you were the reason we sounded so good on this song, and both the first and second demos for that matter. On behalf of the rest of the guys, we thank you.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun making this video and while there was about an hour and fifteen minutes of footage to work with, much of it was a bit boring, visually speaking.

Despite that, I think it came out rather well.

Enjoy!

Find All Inclusive on all the major music streaming services such as:

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon Music

YouTube Music

VARIETY SMACK 009

"THE BEARD OF DOOM"

PREVIOUS | NEXT | FIRST

---

This strip was originally published on November 17, 2011

---

See, the way I figured it was that since Harold got to live out one of his fantasies through the comic (see the last strip), then doggone it, I was gonna too.

This is, again, another retail inspired strip. I was, as I stated before, working at a Walgreens at the time I wrote a lot of these, so my experiences there would sometimes trickle into the comic.

One thing that had always bothered me about working retail were the people that would come up to the counter and spend the entire time I'm ringing them up talking on their phone.

Well, I don't know about you, but I've always found that sort of behavior downright rude. And frankly, it tended to get me a mite angry.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fairly antisocial guy, I wasn't looking to hold meaningful conversations with these people, but my very human dignity did want a little acknowledgement that I existed, that I wasn't just a vending machine they were plunking money into.

Smart phones, social media at our fingertips, it's all slowly killing society. These innovations designed to connect people from around the world and allow us to interact socially with each other over great distances is also destroying the way we interact with each other face to face.

I don't know, maybe I'm just old and cranky.

Also, I just want to point out real quick that Harold put little Teddy Bear faces on my jammies and I love that.

Remember, if you want Harold and I to get the band back together and create more comic strip fun, please say so by leaving a comment below.