The Concert that Changed Me

Well as it usually happens, it’s 2 in the morning and thanks to YouTube I’m no where near going to bed like I planned to 3 hours ago. What has me enraptured is discovering most of the concert Guns n’ Roses did at The Ritz for Mtv back in 1988. As a kid in the very beginning stages of learning guitar and dreaming about rock stardom I saw this concert and it was THE experience that made me want to play rock and roll in whatever capacity. I was a huge Guns n’ Roses fan, as my folks can attest to, I had the albums, the posters, and I think I personally wore out two copies of Appetite for Destruction from constant playing. I know that album almost as good as I know my own recordings. Watching this concert as a kid, I remember being mesmerized by what I saw. My concept of how a band performed was based on careful study of this show. A few years and a few shows changed my perception a bit on this fact but I still remember the dazzling awe I felt watching it. Every moment rang true with me. The manic delivery of Axl Rose, the full arm swinging drum style of Steven Adler, the punk flavor lent by Duff McKagan, the solid but quiet rhythem guitar of Izzy Stradlin, and of course the half man, half beast reason I took an interest in Les Paul guitars Slash. Now, a couple of decades and a few hundred shows of my own later I watch this concert with a different set of eyes. I a guitar play who is clearly very drunk, a singer near losing his voice, additional vocals added only in the vicinity of being harmonious, the madness at the end of “Paradise City” and the foreshadowing of Axl’s well know “Temper Tantrums” as he throws the Mic at the end of “Rocket Queen”. Still, though, I can remember that kid sitting inches from the TV set in the living room late at night soaking in this experience. The last song (out of synch with the flow of the concert) is the live cover of Dylan’s “Knocking on Heavens Door” heard on the radio which inspired many of my friends to add this song to the various sets we’ve played over the years. I’m not sure how this show will be perceived by some of you but for me and a few friends, the course of our lives might have taken very different paths were it not for these five guys playing this gig that night.

Communist Bloc Party!!

Several members of Zombie Squad own Mosin-Nagant rifles. Most own them because they are cheap to purchase (around $100 a rifle) and cheap to shoot (about $0.20 a round). Someone suggested that we all get together and have a “Mosin Day” at a local rifle range. Several people were interested so planning commenced. One of the members said that while they didn’t own a Mosin, they did have an SKS which is also Russian and would that be acceptable. It was agreed that the event would be changed to a “Communist-Bloc Party” and that any Russian rifle was allowed to come along.

On Saturday, April 7th I made the drive to Wheeling IL and met up with a couple of friends and we car-pooled to show-up site. Once everyone got to the site we headed over to the Aurora Sportsman Club in Waterman, IL. There were two ZS people who were members at this club and played host to us. We got signed in and set up at one of the ranges.

I brought my 1943 Mosin-Nagant M91/30.



We got our targets placed, went over the range rules and started putting lead down range. It was really interesting to see all the variations people brought.



There were a couple of people who, in addition to “Russian” rifles, brought some other interesting guns. One of the guys brought a couple of AR-15’s he built. My previous experience with this rifle was not great because I kept getting hit in the face when I fired it. I said this to him and he picked one up, extended the stock, and handed to me. After some questions about the electronic gun sights or “optics" I loaded and fired. What a difference! It was easy and enjoyable shooting this gun after a simple “click and slide”. I also got to fire an AK-74.

After some free-for-all firing the group decided to have a shooting contest. Twenty Four “Clay Pigeons” were hung out in a line and six of us each took a shot. If we hit one we got to fire again otherwise it moved to the next shooter. The winner hit five while I only hit one. Hey, I’m a beginner, what did you expect?

After the contest, one of the members brought out a couple of special guns for us to check out. He brought a M1918 B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle) and an Armalite AR-50 Which fires a round like this!



And I got to shoot them!! I apologize for the audio but it was windy that day.

The B.A.R.



The AR-50



When I fired the AR-50 I looked through the scope but didn’t see a mark on the Zombie head I was aiming for. However, as we went to clean up at the end of the day this is what I discovered.

Photo by Mystic_1


After we cleaned up we all headed to a local pub for burgers and conversation. It was a great day with some great people shooting some great guns.

The BAR next to the AK-74


Me with the AR-50
Photo by Firebreatha

A proper send off

To randomly overheard lyrics about “Tractor Pulls”
To a booth at Perkins
To Johnny V’s, Donnie Darko and Spaghetti with weird sauce
To dozing during Hellboy
To a Narcoleptic Insomniac
To Awesome Bumper Stickers
To Green Glass
To Horrible Screaming matches and uncontrollable Laughter
To available shoulders during dark times
To Mindless Self Indulgence and Henry Rollins
To “East Wash”
To the” 2 Live Crew”
To pastries from hot blondes for 3rd shifters
To little girls drinking cans of Pepsi with both hands going “doop di doop doop”
To “Alcatraz………”
To grilled pineapple and tartar sauce
To all the silliness and flouncing that created “Mamories” that will NEVER fade

Easy Roads and Honest Strangers