Tuesday, February 3, 2009

10 things I am sure that you dont know about me...

1- I am a total Indiaphile. Which means that I have an unquenchable interest in Indian culture, religion, art and cinema. And yes, Bollywood stuff too. My obsession with India began many years ago and I have some pretty cool Indian stuff that I have managed to collect. India is the ultimate dichotomy...incredibly beautiful but also terribly ugly. I like to think of India as representative of the human condition. I have a keen interest in Shaktism...you can google it.

2- Back in the '80's, when I was a wild youngster (as opposed to a wild oldster) I was the Lead Vocalist/Lyricist for Bent, an old-school Goth band. My stage name was Dave Grave. We did fairly well. We broke up due to all the typical band drama that kills off way too many bands, at which point I became Lead Vocalist for a metal band w/a nice Goth vibe called the Web. And yes, after too much band drama we also broke up (translation: I shacked up w/the Lead Guitarists ex...and promptly got engaged!). The cool thing was that I got to travel and play all around the southwest. I got to hang out w/Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedy's and still have a letter he wrote to me on "Alternative Tentacles" stationary. He wanted to sign Bent to his label.

3- Many years ago I began customizing motorcycles. I put together a great radical '70's style chopper that I dubbed Elvira. Nowadays I have 2 custom bikes...a BMW R90/6 "bobber" that I ride occasionally and an awesome 1700cc Roadstar that I have dubbed Elvira 2. I freaking live to ride! Any idea yet how I feel about winter in the midwest?

4- My interest in Roller Derby actually started with Banked Track. I was a total "Banked-track Snob" and ignored all the Flat-track leagues that were popping up all over the country. I had the attitude that Banked-track was so much faster and more exciting than Flat-track could ever be. And there was that connection to the old school Derby that couldnt be ignored. However, when Indy got their own Flat-track team I figured, "Ahhh...what the hell. May as well check it out". The rest, as they are keen to say, is history. Do I even need to say how crazy I got over Flat-track derby?? Naaaahhh...didnt think so.

5- I lived in Albuquerque, Mew Mexico for about 6 years. There was an incredible underground music scene that totally thrived in the '80's. My band, Bent, played live on KUNM radio. Everyone knew everyone else in the scene and we all, for the most part, supported each other. I miss the Land of Entrapment...aaaahhh Albucrackee. I had a cool apartment in the Sandia foothills for a while and when I looked out the lil window from my shower I could see the majestic Sandia Mountains. We used to hike up in the mountains, dodging rattlesnakes and picking up pinon nuts off the ground which we greedily ate. It was beautiful baby.

6- I have an old pukey Pug dog named Winston. He smells like a dead body and wretches constantly. He gets to gagging and choking and its just a matter of time until he blows. Its really nasty. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He is now almost 12. Ummmm...how long do Pugs live??

7- I absolutely LOVE old European cars. I have had 2 Saabs, 2 VW's, an Audi and a BMW. I currently drive a great old Saab 900 Turbo convertible. One of the best cars I've ever owned. I gave my other Saab 900 to my son, which he STILL drives back and forth to Indiana State University. Saab makes awesome cars (until GM came along...doh!). I have my eyes open for a great deal on an old Volvo 240 in good shape. They are freaking bulletproof!!

8- I am a "Commercial Sales Rep" for Lowes. Which is a fancy way of saying that I sell huge piles of building materials and obscure hardware to Contractors, Custom home bulders, Drywallers, Painters, Framers, etc ad nauseum. Lowes has insisted on promoting me and I will soon be what they like to call a Millwork Specialist. Yeah...dont ask. I live 2 miles from work, and that my friends is KEY. I love being able to go home for lunch. Its kinda like being in High School. Hey...I said KINDA.

9- I attended IUPUI with aspirations of becoming an Architect. Had I known that becoming an Architect consisted of taking classes like "Stress Physics" I would have never considered it! I eventually dropped out when life got in the way and I was tired of being broke all the time. Ramen noodles suck.

10- I have an incredible collection of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" memorabilia. I will say flat out that Buffy TVS is my all-time favorite TV show ever and nothing, I mean nothing, comes close to Buffy in my opinion. That show had it all: drama, comedy, horror and sci-fi. I also have quite a few "Angel" items too. I have all of the dvd box sets to "Buffy" and "Angel". My obsession with all things Vanpyr has never subsided and to this day I am a pushover for practically any half-decent vampire movie or TV show. So yes...that means that I am one of around 12 people that actually watched and enjoyed such TV shows as "Blood Ties" and "Moonlight". I loved the "Blade" and "Underworld" movie series of course. I am such a Goth sometimes...

5 comments:

  1. Hey BD!

    I Have yet to post at the Naptown site but,
    I am going to do so here... I have enjoyed your comments, suggestions, analysis of all the roller derby teams....its seems like in North America...
    and after reading your bio here, come to find out
    we have a few common interests...
    1st..
    Naptown Roller Girls;
    I drive semi OTR for a living, last year, you might remember the date...I picked up the NOVU
    mag,that featured NRG..., it was the night they went from the normal venue in Indy to a smaller one and had an overflow crowd; I didnt read the article till 9pm or so....but the hook was set...
    been following NRG's exploits ever since...online
    and thru the live feeds... turns out that has been my only chance to see NRG in person,as my travels have not allowed me to be in area when
    the girls are doing battle... so still a derby
    virgin...dammit ;-) but thru the NRG website
    I have come to know and admire the NRG and their
    rabid fan base... a very special you have going
    on...
    and you... I wish I knew a bookie that took bets on roller derby bout outcomes... what you
    were 6 outta 7 for the nationals!!! coulda bet the house and had 2 houses....
    you have great insight and feel for roller derby.. I dont know what happened for you to leave NRG's site... but this is great
    Wendy O... do you remember when she got arrested in Milwaukee back in the day? something
    about whipped cream and being obscene? I was at that show!!! fantastic she was, plasmatics were
    great too... and for the finale she sawed a guitar in half with a chain saw... my buddy caught the top half!! put it up on his wall,
    he was lead singer for a punk rock band 10-49 in my hometown of Kenosha WI...
    Buffy!! O man we are on the same page there brother!!! still in love/lust with that girl!!!
    speaking of love/lust jackie o and joan of dark
    OMG
    I cant wait till I can see the NRG in person, and meet all, the team and the fans...
    so if see you a big guy, standing alone at a get 2 gether before or after a match, or in the suicide seats, it might be me, I will look you up and shake your hand..
    keep up the good work.
    thanks
    bear

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bear...thanx for the kind words! You were AT that infamous Milwaukee gig where Wendy got arrested??! Holy shit...that gig is legendary! Hope to meetcha at an NRG bout soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Weirdness. I worked for Lowe's starting the summer after my first semester at college...first as a stockgirl, then as a cashier. I wanted to be the lawn and garden sales associate so bad...but so did the bitch that the store manager was boffing. Guess who got THAT job? I totally know what a commercial sales rep is....and a millwork specialist! I have the old school Lowe's jacket in navy blue and gold...before they made their secret pact with Wal-Mart (You know the one...where they always build next door or across the street from one another...and don't really compete because they don't sell the same merchandise?) and went Red, white, and blue. It has my birth name embroidered on the chest. I'll show ya!

    And pugs are traditionally sick little guys. They are inbred horribly because people want pocket puppies...and it wasn't a very selective breeding process. My sister breeds American Cocker Spaniels and shows them....and she is vehemently against the practice. So...sad thing is, he probably has a genetic predisposition for that puking thing...and he's probably at the end of his shelf life.

    Glad I finally came by the blog spot. You know...I used to get this info for free without looking for it...and without having to freaking subscribe!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh yeah...and I did a year at UK in the architecture program before dropping out and getting married!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Snidely Bitchslap is an architect!
    I LOOOVVVEE Buffy and Angel!!!! They did such a good job w/ character dialogue, too.

    ReplyDelete