by John Harper
THIS IS A synopsis of the Micronotz' summer tour, and I don't know why I'm writing. It seems kind of silly writing this a month after the fact, but I guess I will. Over the three years the Micronotz have been together, I guess we always figured we'd do something like this eventually, and so we finally did. What it was was a two-week tour of the Midwest. It doesn't seem like much, but a lot of work was necessary to put on just one show. And we were doing it blind, but we learned a few things. Mainly--avoid over-21 bars!! They are nothing but trouble.
>Tulsa                          Wednesday July 27
We left Lawrence with great fear in our hearts, for our last encounter with Tulsa, OK was less than ideal. We went there last summer, and we weren't quite ready for what we got. Cups of ice thrown at us, our PA almost knocked over, yells and threats from the crowd--they didn't like us. However, this show was much different. It was a smaller crowd, to be sure, but it was much more receptive. A local band called Deutsch Threat opened for us, and they played a couple covers, many good originals, and the theme from "Hogan's Heroes." Pretty good stuff. Anyway, the guy who books the Crystal Pistol, Larry Brandt, is a really nice guy and he's interested in getting more music in Tulsa.

Denver                          Saturday, July 30
I-70 between Lawrence and Denver isn't one of the more scenic drives to take, and since the Bus of Justice had sort of a heat problem, we drove this 12-hour drive at night. We were scheduled to play that night at a place called the Dust Bowl with 2 bands--Bum Kon and Peace Core. We were all looking forward to it because my cousin (who we were staying with) said it was probably gonna be pretty full. The people there were really nice and seemed to know of us. We were going to practice where Bum Kon practices, but we didn't after all. They are a real good band, and I'd like to say more, but I can't be very objective in this case. (--ed note: Bum Kon's singer is John's cousin!)

So when we arrived at the Dust Bowl that night, we all said "oh shit this really stinks." The place was someone's basement (they were busy sweeping up, the club is below ground) and we wondered if people would show up.

 So we went to McDonald's to ponder the situation. While we were there it rained, and upon arriving at the Dust Bowl we discovered it had flooded. We spent about an hour bailing it out.

So, Peace Core went on first. They were really good, a kind of psychedelic thrash band. The had a really incredible guitarist, who said they'll be coming out with an EP real soon. Look for it, 'cuz they are really good. Bum Kon played next. They're a relatively young band, and although they played very tight and fast, I liked their practice a little better. But they were good. Their music is slightly reminiscent of the Bad Brains, but more unpredictable. By the time we got on, there were quite a few people in the place, and they seemed to like us. Much slamming. Some big drunk Gorilla slammed Dean into the drumset and was being a real nuisance (not on purpose, I'm sure).

But anyway, Denver is really great town to play. The scene is basically centered around Wax Trax Records, and it's an all ages town as far as music goes.

Tom Headbanger is the man to talk to in Denver, he's very supportive, and besides, he rules.

Minneapolis                          Thursday, August 4
We arrived in Minneapolis Thursday morning tired, hungry and already sick of the Bus of Justice. We had an arrangement with Blake Gumprecht to stay at his apartment. Blake is living in Minneapolis because he has a job being Twin-Tone's P.R. man. So we didn't see him much Thursday, as he was working. The show was pretty much a fiasco, with a band called Expressionless Agony warming up. The only song I remember is called "Soldier of Misfortune"

next