Bucky's Best Moments of 2018

Hi everyone!

With just a few more hours left in 2018, it's time for me to reflect on some of the better days of 2018. The year had its ups and downs, just like any other year. It was busy, but a lot less stressful than the year before. Here are some of my favorite memories of 2018:

1. Spending time with my friends from Holland at a Prince DJ tribute show at the legendary First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis in June. My friends Andy and Lynn were making a two-week tour of selected cities in the U.S. They spent time visiting Paisley Park, and I was honored to finally get to meet them. I made my way to their hotel and had just sat down to hear the sounds of Prince's hit song "When Doves Cry" over the bar speakers when I met my friends. We spent several hours catching up, laughing and listening to music. Definitely one of my favorite moments of the last several years. Guess this means I have to visit them in Holland some time!

2. Attending Rock USA for the first time in Oshkosh, WI this summer was eventful. I shared a hotel room with a good friend, and we got to see a lot of good bands. I got to see bands like Godsmack and Shaman's Harvest, and catch great performances by Trivium, Bush, Shinedown, Gemini Syndrome, Nonpoint, 10 Years and my favorite band Sevendust, to name just a few. I was front row center for Sevendust's six-song set on the main stage. Bassist Vince Hornsby threw me a pick that landed right at my feet! Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon spotted me right away, and asked me how I was doing. I was fortunate to catch up with him later on after a radio interview. He made a beeline for my friend and I right away, and it was good catching up with him for a while.

The only downside to the festival were the Friday rains that delayed and cancelled a few performances. The next day was better, despite the muddy grounds. My friend and I roadtripped to Belvidere, IL on my birthday that Sunday, to catch live music from Fozzy, Wayland, Powerman 5000, Vyces and 10 Years. I received a signed photo as a birthday gift from my friends in Vyces and had a nice chat with 10 Years frontman Jesse Hasek after seeing them perform for the second day in a row.

3. Catching up with my friends in Scarlet Canary. I was able to watch my friends in the Denver band Scarlet Canary twice in 2018, at the Standing Alliance CD release show at Route 47 Pub & Grub in Fridley in June and again at the Sword Metal Festival at Niesens in Savage in August. I was really surprised that the band drove 12 hours from Colorado and back for the Sword Metal Festival, but since they didn't have to bring all of their gear, I guess it was a good way for them to get more exposure. Unfortunately, the band is calling it quits after tonight, but I'm happy for the friendships that I've made with the band members. Watching them play live and standing around outside Niesen's talking with them and Stef from the band City of the Weak this summer are highlights of this year's concert season.

4. Sevendust arrived in Minnesota! I got to see my friends in Sevendust for the 23rd time when they started their tour opening for Clutch at the Myth in Maplewood, MN in September. This was the first day of the tour, and I could tell the band was pumped. I attended the VIP meet and greet before the show, and we were treated to acoustic performances of the classic songs "Trust" and "Angel's Son." After the last song, lead guitarist Clint Lowery tossed the guitar pick he was using towards us. It bounced off of my baseball cap and landed right in my lap! I enjoyed chatting with drummer Morgan Rose later on about the upcoming Headbangers convention in Portland, Oregon and with rhythm guitarist John Connolly about his triathlon training. The band played a tight set, and I stayed around in the front row to hear Clutch for the first time with some good friends from the Cities.

5. Meeting Mark Tremonti was another highlight of the year. I bought the VIP meet and greet session so I was back at the Myth early for their October show. We were ushered in for soundcheck, and were able to get autographs and photos with the band. Mark is one of the nicest dudes I've ever met. His drummer Ryan is a big Vikings fan, and we talked sports for a bit. Tremonti's solo band were opening for Seether, and they put on another solid performance. I stood back in the crowd with my friends during Seether's set, because this was my fifth time seeing them live. Besides, I wanted to get a selfie with Mark. He was nice enough to take the photo-mission accomplished!

These are just some of the many great concert moments I was able to experience this year. I didn't get to a lot of shows, but the ones I did attend were all very memorable. I'm already looking forward to 2019's concert slate. I don't know for sure yet what my first concert will be, but I know one of them will be somewhere I've never been before-you'll just have to stay tuned for that!

Until next time, Happy New Year, everyone!

Another Sevendust Family Reunion

On a recent concert DVD, Sevendust frontman Lajon Witherspoon says that the band doesn't really have concerts, they have "family reunions." That sentiment is very true! I have now been to 23 Sevendust shows in six states (Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts), and every time I run across friends who are also avid Sevendust fans. A lot of us have become close enough to be considered family. I have friends around the world because of Sevendust, and I have to step back at times and admire the connection that we have made because of these five humble musicians.

My most recent Sevendust show was this past Tuesday at the Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, MN. I bought the pre-show VIP meet and greet pass with the band, and arrived at the venue shortly before 3 pm. No sooner did I arrive when I ran into a couple of Sevendust friends of mine. The dozen or so of us participating in the VIP session were rounded up by support staff and led upstairs to the second floor of the concert venue. There waiting for us were the guys in Sevendust! They greeted us all with hugs and wide smiles. This was the first night of the tour, and it was obvious that the guys were ready to get back onstage again.

We soon sat down and listened to the band perform acoustic versions of the songs "Trust" and "Angel's Son." It was great to seeing the guys have a lot of fun, as they were laughing and joking between songs. At the end of "Angel's Son," lead guitarist Clint Lowery tossed the guitar pick he was using up into the air. It bounced off the top of the baseball cap I was wearing, and landed gently in my lap. Another concert souvenir, before the real concert had even started! Each of us VIP session attendees later lined up for a photo with the band, and I got to have a few brief chats with drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly before it was time to go grab a signed poster and head downstairs to buy merch before the doors would officially open for the show in a few hours.

I returned to the Myth shortly after 5 pm, and was fortunate enough to hear the guys in Sevendust performing the new song "Unforgiven" and a bit of the hit "Waffle" during soundcheck. They were loud enough for me to hear outside the building! I ran into a few more friends while waiting in line, and quickly made a beeline for the front rail once the doors opened for the public a little before 7 pm.

At 7:30 p.m. the first opening band, Nashville natives Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, started the show. I didn't know much about this twenty-something quartet, but they did a good job of rocking their original songs to keep the growing crowd entertained. They had a kind of classic/blues rock feel to their sound that made me take a mental note to check out more about them online later on. 

About an hour later, it was time for Sevendust to arrive! The band kicked off their eight-song set with the hit single "Pieces," and the Sevendust family in attendance were ready to rock out! Although there was a strict no crowd surfing policy posted on the doors of the Myth before the show, that restriction didn't stop my friends and I from enjoying the show. Sevendust's fourth song was the new song "Unforgiven," and it was an unforgettable performance! The guys were feeding off of the energy from the crowd and themselves. They were also having fun onstage. At one point, Lajon mockingly complained about the size of Morgan's drum kit, saying that Morgan had toned it down by eliminating "one cymbal and a tom." By the time Sevendust finished their set with the fan favorite "Thank You," the crowded house was eager for more!

Shortly before 10 pm, it was time for headliners Clutch to hit the stage. While I didn't know much about the band except for the songs from their new album Book of Bad Decisions (which I received a CD copy of in the mail free with my concert ticket purchase) and the song "Electric Worry," I found myself singing and swaying along to their songs throughout their 90-minute set. I was surprised to see the crowd in the pit a lot more active and animated than they were during Sevendust's set, but I realized that a lot of people were there to see the headliner. This was my first time seeing Clutch live, and I assure you it won't be the last. I grew to admire their bluesy alternative rock sound. I still find it hard to believe that both Clutch and Sevendust were tour openers for Limp Bizkit 20 years ago!

The show ended shortly after 11 pm, and I made my way to the Clutch merch table with a few friends who had also been hanging out along the front rail. I made my way home in a light rain a half-hour later. While I didn't get to spend a lot of time with my friends, and there were a few friends there that I didn't even get to see, I felt good in knowing that everyone who did attend had a great experience. It was another fantastic Sevendust family reunion!

Bucky's Cat Tales

Growing up in the country on a lake in Central Minnesota was very peaceful. We didn't have a lot of traffic noise, and I enjoyed being able to go out and play outside or fish or spend time with family, neighbors and friends.

My family moved from a rented home in my hometown to an acre lot on a lake a few miles away when I was three years old. The house had a nice view of the lake. It also came with four cats.

Several of the cats were known to the lake neighbors. One of them would sit on the dock when my grandpa would come over to fish, and the locals knew they could toss a sunfish or crappie onto our dock, where the cat would gleefully catch and eat it. I don't remember much about them because I was so young, but then I don't remember a lot about the black lab we had from when I was three to six, either.

Most of the cats we had when I was growing up were outdoor cats. They were free to roam about when we were at work or school, and lived a pretty contented life. Sometimes we would come home to find dead squirrels or birds that they either left us as gifts, or they had caught and had become tired of playing with after a while.

One summer day when I was 10 years old, my dad asked me to turn off the Saturday morning cartoons and help him find where our mother cat had hid her new kittens. He could hear them outside, but couldn't see them. We quickly found that she had hidden them in the rafters of the garage, because she wanted to put them in a safe place. We were concerned, because that garage was awfully hot in August, and because the mother cat had no back teeth, and my parents were worried that she'd drop them at some point. It wasn't unusual for our female cats to hide their kittens in the garage or in the various woodpiles my dad had at the top of the hill to protect them from predators.

One of our most famous (or infamous) mother cats was known as "Schwarz," which is German for the color black. This black cat became part of our family one cold February day. We were going to church, when we noticed something underneath one of the cars in the garage. We had kept one of the overhead garage doors open a bit for the other cats we had at the time to come and go as they pleased, so that's how this new cat got in to the garage. We were soon able to coax this new cat out from under the car, and found that it had its tail, mouth and arms duct taped, probably by a particularly cruel neighbor farm kid. My brother and I held the cat securely as Dad calmly cut the duct tape off. It ran away for a while, but later came back. My mom was so disgusted by the act that she wrote a letter to the editor of our local newspaper, where Schwarz became known as the "duct tape kitty."

Most of the cats we had were rather adventurous. They weren't afraid to carefully sneak up on the Canadian geese that would sometimes land on our shoreline, poke their paws at turtles who came by to lay their eggs, chase birds and even woodchucks, follow a cow in the farm neighbor's pasture (and later have to take a bath after standing underneath the cow who had to relieve herself), or try to snag a fish from my Uncle Felix's fish bucket. Felix kept everything he caught, but if I saw one of the cats successfully snag a small fish from his basket with their paws, I wasn't about to say anything. The way I saw it, they earned that catch!

Another favorite cat was affectionately known as "Cheeko," because it was a black and white cat with a black head and white cheeks. It was my brother's favorite cat growing up, and it went missing for several months. It came back one winter day while my brother was waiting for the school bus. He ran into the house to exclaim, "Cheeko's back!" He had to go back outside to catch his bus, but after school he made sure to give Cheeko a cat treat and later watched him paw at the frozen minnows in his minnow bucket that he kept in the basement, as he was saving them for a warmer day to go ice fishing. 

We had plenty of other fun cat moments, like the tabby who jumped on the metal barrel I was burning trash in one fall day and singed his whiskers enough to be nicknamed "Pierre;" watching them stalk birds, rodents and garden snakes; take their worm pills only when they were wrapped in a piece of cheese; and chase each other around the lakeshore property. Owning so many cats taught me the importance of caring for other animals and I think it helped me develop the kind nature that I have as an adult. We had a few rabbits, a goldfish and the aforementioned black lab "Oscar," but I think the cats taught me the most of all of our pets about responsibility. I haven't had a pet in many years, but if I do adopt another animal for my townhouse, it'll probably be a cat - someone to keep me company that can fend for himself while I'm at work or out at a concert on a weekend. 

Well, that's all for now, just felt the urge to write on a quiet weekend. Got a couple of shows to go to next weekend, so stay tuned. Until then, have a great week, everyone!

Bucky's Birthday Weekend Vaction Bash!

Hi everyone,
This blog is kind of like my Twitter and SnapChat accounts: I forget I have it sometimes. I've been busy with work and some other fiction writing in my spare time, but I felt like sharing my experiences last week out of state, so here goes!

A friend and I decided to attend the Rock USA festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin last week for the first time. The festival started last Thursday with WWE wrestler Chris Jericho's band Fozzy on the main stage. This was my first time seeing them live, and I thought they did a good job of entertaining the crowd.

Next up were Australian rockers Like a Storm on the Militia stage. This was my first time seeing them in a few years, and they had the crowd rockin' along to their hits and new songs. I made a mental note to check out their new album Catacombs as soon as possible. 

The next band on that stage was Nonpoint. This was my eighth time seeing them live, and I enjoyed hearing a few classics along with the new songs "Dodge Your Destiny" and "Chaos and Earthquakes" from their upcoming album X. 

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the main stage to see Pop Evil. While I'm not a big fan of this band, I enjoyed being able to enjoy them with the rest of the crowd in the main stage pit. 

My friend and I then went back to the Militia stage to see punk/pop rockers Sum 41. Not our favorites, but they had the crowd enthralled and stuck in the 90's for a while with their songs and stage show. 

After a dinner break, it was time to return to the main stage to see Gavin Rossdale and the latest incarnation of his band Bush. They've changed a lot since I last saw them live in 2000, but they had the nostalgia factor working in their favor as the crowd was swaying along to hits like "Machinehead," "Greedy Fly," "Glycerine" and others.

Before Halestorm's set, we were able to catch a glimpse of Sixx A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba performing the National Anthem live on the main stage. One of the better performances of the song that I've seen in a while!

This was my second time seeing Halestorm, and they mixed in some familiar songs along with a few new songs from their upcoming studio album. 

My friend and I went back to another stage in the far corner of the festival grounds to see Gemini Syndrome. While my pictures didn't turn out the best, we did get our arms stamped by drummer Brian Steele Medina after their impressive set. Gemini Syndrome never disappoint!

Closing the first night of Rock USA were Godsmack. I don't know if I've ever seen them live before, but they had an impressive stage set, including a "drum-off" with Shannon Larkin and frontman Sully Erna. 

The next day was Friday the 13th and like most Friday the 13ths, it was good and bad. The music started on the main stage with Shaman's Harvest. This was my first time seeing them live, and I really dug their heavy Southern rock grooves!

I stayed front and center at the main stage because I wanted to see my favorite band Sevendust for the 22nd time. While they only played a six-song set, I really enjoyed seeing them for the first time in over a year. 

Toward the end of the set, bass guitarist Vinny Hornsby spotted me, and tossed me one of his guitar picks, which landed right at my feet - another cool piece for my collection!

The rain started to fall during Adelita's Way's set on the Militia stage. This was my first time seeing the band in a few years, and they did a good job keeping the crowd entertained despite the weather. 

After the set, I noticed one of the local radio stations had an interview scheduled with Sevendust! My friend and I waited to see frontman Lajon Witherspoon give a live interview. Afterwards, we hung out behind the radio booth. LJ spotted me, and came up to my friend and I to chat, take a picture and even wish me a Happy Birthday!

The rain started coming down heavier, and the event staff made everyone go to their cars. Unfortunately in the VIP parking area, the exits were blocked, so no one could leave if they wanted to. They later decided to let everyone in for Seether on the main stage at about 7:30 pm. 

All That Remains played immediately afterwards on the Militia stage, but I decided to sit that one out and watch from the VIP tent as the rain continued to come down. Eventually, the rest of the night's performances were cancelled due to weather. No chance to see Marilyn Manson, Soil or Rob Zombie that night.

I navigated us behind the band trailers in the muddy mess that night to our hotel. My friend decided to skip day 3 of Rock USA, but I decided to head in a little later after finding out what some of my other friends wanted to do.

The first band I saw that Saturday was Trivium. Another six-song set, but I always enjoy their live shows!

The next band I went to see was 10 Years. This was my first time seeing them in a couple of years, and I enjoyed hearing the new songs "Novocaine," "Burnout," and their cover of the Nirvana classic "Heart Shaped Box" mixed in with their classics. At the end of the set, I managed to catch a water bottle thrown by frontman Jesse Hasek.

After 10 Years' set, I noticed the radio booth was doing an interview with Trivium. The interview was with their bass guitarist Paolo Gregoletto, and I had the opportunity to chat with him briefly and take a selfie.

I wasn't pleased with the muddy conditions near the Militia stage and I'm not a big fan of Nothing More, so I decided to take a break and have a bite to eat and put my feet up for a while in the VIP tent, enjoying the music from afar until the Stone Temple Pilots took to the main stage. This was my first time seeing them since the death of original frontman Scott Weiland, but I thought that new singer Jeff Gutt really channeled the swagger and stage presence of their founding singer. 

After their set, I made a quick beeline to the stage nestled in the far corner of the festival grounds to see Saving Abel. They always put on a high-energy show!

Shinedown closed out Rock USA 2018 on the main stage. While I'm not a fan of the poppier sounds of their last couple of albums, they have a good stage show and I enjoyed getting to hear some of their classics live, ending in the early hours of my birthday morning.

I didn't get much sleep that night, but I woke up a little late that Sunday, seeing my phone flooded with birthday greetings. I took a while to relax in the hotel pool and hot tub, before driving to Belvidere, IL with my friend to see a show headlined by Fozzy and 10 Years.

A few minutes after we got to the venue, I spotted Powerman 5000 bass guitarist Murv Douglas walking around. I managed to chat with him for a bit, and he was nice enough to pose for a few photos with me.

The show started with local rockers Genotype and our friends in Vyces. This was my second time seeing them live, and they were nice enough to give me a signed poster after the show!

Next up were regional favorites Wayland. This was my first time seeing them live, and I felt they had a kind of Foo Fighters vibe to them. Simple but enjoyable rock!

The fourth band of the evening was Powerman 5000. This was my first time seeing them since they headlined the second day of last year's Taste of Madison on Labor Day weekend. They always put on a high-energy set!

The final opener was Fozzy, my second time seeting them that week. Chris Jericho is used to drawing attention to himself with his wrestling career, but I think this band was the real fan favorite of the evening.

I was surprised seeing the crowd dissipate a bit after Fozzy's set ended, but I always enjoy a good 10 Years set! Second time seeing them in as many days-they always put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into every show.

After the show, my friend and I chatted with 10 Years singer Jesse Hasek and posed for photos with him. I've chatted with him a few times before, and he's one of the most down to earth and humble musicians I've ever met.

I drove us back to our hotel in the wee hours of Monday morning, and got a few hours of sleep before driving back to Minnesota that afternoon. Tuesday I ran a few errands, had a birthday lunch with my folks and generally took it easy before returning to work on Wednesday. Not a perfect week, but I enjoyed the bands I heard and the friends that  I got to interact with that weekend.

That's all for now - not sure when my next article will be, because I don't have any concerts scheduled for another month at the earliest. Rest assured, I'll still be around, though! Until next time, have a great week, everyone!