Austin-Help wanted. What to do in the live music capital of the world?

Same Same is taking a short trip to Austin, TX, USA very soon. Our plans include visiting the much lauded Salt Lick BBQ, a day trip to San Antonio to tour the Alamo, the San Antonio River Walk, swimming at Barton Springs and some quality time with great music.

The bands we’re looking forward to seeing this October in Austin are the Murder City Devils at the fantastic outdoor venue The Mohawk, Ruby Dee & the Snake Handlers, and we sure hope we get the chance to see Austin up and comers Oak Is Keeping. If you like Oak Is Keeping, you can vote for them in the Airwalk Unsigned Heroes contest and and help them get a record deal.

Please send Same Same suggestions if you have ideas for additional fun in Austin. We are always on the lookout for interesting activities. FB

BAR NUN-The Canterbury Eats & Ale Seattle, WA

The Canterbury Eats & Ale

“Work is the Curse of the Drinking Man.”

Let it be known that I care a great deal for the Canterbury & that this piece will be neither unbiased nor objective. ACTUALLY, I FRICKIN’ LOVE THE CANTERBURY. It is unequivocally the coziest bar in my town. It feels like home, perhaps because for years I lived 4 blocks away & whenever my internet-porn addicted roommate used to chase me out of the apartment so he could look at skeezy websites, I would walk to the Canterbury.

Naturally, since those days I’ve spent much time in its Tudorian splendor of my own free will. Truly a dive, there’s been many a frigid winter evening snuggled into a roomy cracked vinyl booth enjoying the fire place and a glass of Jameson in this Olde English bar. Cathedral ceilings & cobwebby wrought iron chandeliers contribute to its haunted castle aura. Despite the décor, it is mercifully free of Gregorian chanting. In fact, the Canterbury has one of the best juke boxes in Seattle & it hasn’t been changed in at least a decade. Typical of a night’s playlist: Neil Diamond, Murder City Devils, Pixies, Tom Waits, maybe a little Van Halen, some Dolly Parton or Patsy Cline, possibilities are endless.

The cast of characters here is also unlimited. The staff is fantastic, consisting of no nonsense, hard pouring bartenders & cute, snappy waitresses. Patrons are generally heavy drinkers, few hipsters. Perhaps you will meet the elusive Ice Wizard, whose sheer absurdity rivals Spinal Tap. I promise this guy is for real. He looks like a Scandinavian death metaller, won’t divulge his actual name, wears a massive pewter belt buckle in the image of a wizard in a pointy hat holding a crystal ball & hangs out by the juke box urging folks to play his favorite selections from Screaming for Vengeance. You can’t miss him, just look for the leather biker jacket bedazzled with “Ice Wizard” on the back. Honestly.

Though not the place to find the cheapest drinks, the Canterbury provides excellent quantity for the price. Certain cocktails historically served as shots have been known to come in a rocks glass here, such as Chocolate Cakes & Oatmeal Cookies. Order your drink with or without mixer, you get the same amount of liquid. Happy hour is Monday – Friday 3 to 6 PM. The deal is 50 cents off all beer & cocktails. Not a great savings, but your $8 double call liquor drink is still going to come in a pint glass, even when it’s not happy hour.

For entertainment, there are several pool tables, pinball & shuffleboard. Pool is free until 4 PM every day. Better yet, bring a book or the newspaper & settle in. Feel free to treat it like your living room, whether it’s relaxing times or a lively gathering you’re searching for. It’s an ideal place to meet a few friends or arrange a shindig. Just don’t arrive hungry. Food here is often questionable, but the menu is sprinkled with fantastic quotations about drinking. If you’re really drunk, you should just have some nachos. FP

534 15th Ave E. Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 322-3130

Get in the car, we're going on a rock n’ roll road trip.

I’ve always dreamt of being in a rock band, touring the world. Being on stage while hundreds of your most enduring fans follow you from town to town, signing along with all the hits. Wild parties! Groupies! Cruising to your next gig while hearing your latest single on the radio! Rock n’ Roll!!! Is that how it goes?

Well, maybe if you are Van Halen, Kiss, or possibly even Foghat. I think the experiences above are few and far between. Maybe they’re only something you see in movies or on VH1 Classics. The fact is, most of the bands I follow rock harder than the bands living the “dream”; they just haven’t sold their souls. And that is how I would want it. Unfortunately, as I inch closer to my late 30’s, I realize that it’s just not going to happen for me. Now that I think more about it, I would probably hate life on the road. I can’t imagine being cramped in a van with a bunch of smelly dudes who haven’t showered for weeks. Playing on a Tuesday night in Dubuque in front of 10 people? Yeah, on second thought I’ll just pay to see the next band I like in a small dirty rock club. Better to live vicariously through those that are brave enough to accept the challenge. It’s just not me.

A challenge I can accept is a good old road trip following one of my all-time favorite bands as they tour the West Coast. Let’s just be clear, I am not talking about hopping in the old VW bus with 10 of my new best friends that I met while camping, bartering my vegan burritos and discussing the godhood of Jerry Garcia. No, I am talking about loading the MP3 player up and staying in moderately priced hotels. Maybe a few will even have pools.

So that is our next adventure as we follow the Murder City Devils on their latest reunion tour. I can’t wait and expect it to be a great deal of fun. Will I be able to stay up past 11pm on consecutive nights? I sure hope so.

I’ve told you the beginning of our story. Now you should share your rock n’ roll road trip tales. How was life on the road as you went from city to city for the sake of rock n’ roll? Do you have any advice? Leave your comments with all the juicy details. Hell, I’ll even forgive you if it was the Foghat ’93 reunion tour. JJ

“One week of the road. One week and I'm already wrecked.” -Ready for More, the Murder City Devils

BAR NUN-Mohawk Austin, TX

Mohawk

Here in Austin TX USA we find ourselves a fine ol’ place called the Mohawk. Not exactly a dive bar, yet it is muy fantastico. As you can see, I’ve placed their web address above for you to click upon. I don’t wish to seem as if I’m bragging, but here goes – that lil’ window that keeps popping up on the upper right corner of their site - I was at that show in the picture. It you look real hard, you still won’t see me on the roof of the bar watching the Murder City Devils 2007 reunion. That, dear friends, was the reason I found myself in what I thought would be the Elvis-forsaken wastelands of Texas. But guess what? Texas ain’t so bad, really.

Thing about Austin that I quite like, & I wish there were more of in LA, are outdoor bars. Austin is warm & most places where folks congregate have outside areas. Yay for drinking outdoors! The Mohawk is no exception. In fact, the space outside may be close to double the indoor area. This makes the whole place seem huge. The “yard” includes a large concrete area with a medium sized stage at the end opposite the building. There is a”2^nd floor” that wraps around the side of the “yard” & stage, or follow the staircase up to the roof. You can watch bands playing from either vantage point. The stage view is swell! There is rustic outdoor furniture for your lounging pleasure.

I don’t know if they have food, but if you get hungry, there is a Tex-Mex restaurant up the street called Jaime’s Mexican Village that has a sign in front about how they welcome breast feeding in their establishment. I swear I’m not making that up.

The Mohawk serves Texas booze, of course. Lone Star tallboys for sure & probably Shiner & I saw a Texas brand of vodka, too. That was kind of weird. It’s fun there & a lot of good bands come through because it is an excellent place to see a show. Outside. FP

912 Red River St. Austin, TX 78701