artist The Nix Dicksons

That the Simon and Garfunkel song “The Only Living Boy In New York” is actually referring to Holden Caulfield
Approximately 50% of people love this novel, the other half hate it.  And in order to love it, you have had to be in the same shoes as Holden which means being alone, confused and lost in a place other than your home.  The other half of people find the novel dull because they cannot relate to the protagonist.  The novel is either loved or hated based on one’s ability to relate to the main character.

2010 is going to be a phenomenal year.  I can feel it in my bones.  We got a nice little surprise on the very first day of the year when we heard that our debut album, "The Panda EP" was ranked #7 on X92.9's Xposure programs Top 20 Canadian Albums of 2009. 

We were excited to be mixed in with Patrick Watson, Chad Vangaalen and the Japandroids.  I believe our album was the only EP on the list as well.  If you have not gotten a copy stop by your local Megatunes in Edmonton and Calgary or message us and we will mail you one.  Thanks for your support.

Here is a link to the article.  http://www.x929.ca/shows/xposure/

So here's to a good year.  

A Brief History of DICK

Hey good folks,

Show Diaries #11 - #16

Show Diaries – Ship Finals and Space Show and Split Release PartyShow #11 - Ship and Anchor Songwriting Semi Finals: Best-Untapped NewcomerI was super stoked to make it into the finals of the Ship and Anchor Songwriting Contest.  I thought my song was far to inappropriate since it talked about drugs, heavy metal and blowjobs.  Apparently they are totally cool with all that stuff.  There were 15 finalists set to perform on this beautiful sunny day in May.  I woke up Sunday morning and had some breakfast to get ready for the big competition and I could hardly eat I felt so nervous.  I got to the Ship at 11 am and had a pint of Steam whistle and immediately felt better.  My mom and sister came up to watch and my mom was bitching to not have too much too drink before I played so I decided to give in to the nagging.  Everybody was pretty sweet and there was a lot of variety in the songwriting.  Thankfully I got up and played better than I’ve ever played.  After a long afternoon the results finally came in from the judges (Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Cape May Front man) and I pulled off a Second Place which let me move on to the Final Round and gave me a $750 cash prize.  Nice!Show #11 and a Half - Ship and Anchor Finals: Best SongI was feeling pretty good going into this round but when I got there and realized how good everyone was I started to second guess myself.  My dad came up and after the 3rd performer he said, “Well, these guys all seem pretty professional, how do you feel?”  Thanks for the encouragement dad, asshole!  There were so many good musicians in this category it freaked me out.  Everyone here was so professional and most made music for a living and had proper releases and stage experience under their belts.  I felt way under qualified.  I did see one giant weakness in most of my competition though.  Most were unable to tell a good lead in story or work the crowd.  So I got up and gave it everything I had.  I told the sickest story before my song, smiled, danced, made the old ladies laugh and finished the tune off with the most bitching sing-along I had in me. After my turn I felt good.  I knew I played well and that’s really all you can ask for.  I felt good about everything.  The results came in and I finished 3rd overall.  So another $500 in my pocket and a lot of kind words and connections were made.  It was a really sweet experience.  Thanks Calgary Folk Music Festival and Ship and AnchorShow

#12 - Indie Calgary Party: The BrickyardThis show was cancelled because the Brickyard shut down.  This is too bad because I personally really liked the Brickyard.  It was a good venue with a nice owner who always bought you shots, it was right downtown in a good location, real people hung out there rather than hipster/scensters and the manager Tom always fed you shots every time he saw you.  They also payed well and seemed to treat everyone fairly.  Mind you the sound always did seem sub par at best and that can be a pain in the ass.Show

#12 (For Real This Time) - Space Show: Blind Beggar PubThis was set to be Rob’s first show back after a successful surgery and being Brain Tumor free.  We are all way too immature and we felt the need to throw our first annual “Space Show” to celebrate.  We got asked by a lot of people, “What is a Space Show exactly?”  We really didn’t know how to answer this question.  I guess we all just felt that shows should be constantly changing and evolving and should incorporate other forms of media.  I feel if I go see a band and they play the same show every time then that means they are boring and uncreative. I actually think we just wanted to dress up as spacemen and play.  We ended up spending way too much time and effort on this idea.  We built the a rocket ship, planets, stars and moons out of cardboard, tape and tinfoil in Rob’s garage while drinking Big Rock and listening to the Beach Boys and have Rob chat our ear off about Beach Boys fun facts.  It was really fun just hanging out and building shit and going with the flow.  When I went to get cardboard I sent Rob and Calin to go to the dollar store to get supplies for the show.  I said to take the money they needed out of the band fund and they came back with $150 worth of glow sticks, stars, bubbles, Para military army men, tin foil, balloons and other paraphernalia.  We all wrote short scripts and made a weak yet entertaining storyline.  The premise was that we visited the alien planet of Tralmalfadore (yes, this is a shout out to Slaughter House 5 all you trivia fans) and stopped by to play our first intergalactic rock show before getting kidnapped, crash landing, fighting aliens and in the end making up with the aliens.The turnout wasn’t exactly great but it wasn’t bad either.  The sounds were really good and it was definitely a fun way to welcome Rob back and do something different for our live shows.  The show ended up being an absolute riot, Mark from Needy Cat narrated the entire thing and he was sooo funny.  We ended up trashing the set at the end and everyone came up and danced with us, this show was an absolute gong show but was definitely one of the best.  There was silly string all over the roof, spilled drinks everywhere and cardboard, sprinkles, confetti and assorted shit all over the floor.  We asked if they wanted us to clean up but they said don’t worry about it.  The Blind Beggar always treats us really, really well.  I like those guys; I think that venue is coming around.  They are definitely a lot cooler people than some of the A list venues in Calgary.  I’m not sure what makes a venue “A” list, maybe it is because pretentious people hang out there or the fact that the managers are assholes.  Regardless I don’t understand because most trendy venues are filled with douche bags.  I’ve never been a trend follower but rather a trailblazer so I am officially going to come out and say that the Blind Beggar is officially cool.  So all you bands out there…. go play the Blind Beggar, fuck the hipster venues.We will definitely be doing another one of these with a bigger budget and a better set.Show

#13 - Split Release Party: Marquee RoomI remember sitting at the Dog and Duck during Noel Johnson’s’ CD release and shooting the breeze while sharing a pint with Calin and Zach from Our Hearts.  I remember saying “hey, wouldn’t it be cool to do a split together!”.  And then next thing you know and we are committed and on our way with the master plan.We each recorded two new songs, which were to be fun, raw and somewhat less professional than our separate ordeals.  We wrote and recorded Curtis’ Zombie Movie and Wanderlust.  Curtis’ Zombie Movie is about my best friends dream of making a zombie movie and the other is about my love and lust for travel.Calin did all the design and he pulled it off just in time.  We booked the Marquee Room to make things happen and we were kind of stressed about getting a good turnout and getting the album done in time and complete with our meager budget.So we managed to completely finish the Split just days before the CD release.  I was so freaking stressed out come show day that my mind was doing circles.  We had a little shindig at our place before the show and had a few drinks.  My friend Curtis came up to help ring in the song that is about him and his zombie movie.  Our drummer Calin started drinking about 1 in the afternoon and had drank a 26 of Rye come about 8’ o clock.  He could hardly stand up or talk and I became even more stressed about his ability to play.We got to the venue at about 8:30 pm and there was hardly anybody there.  I was feeling absolutely sick, we did all this work and nobody came (or so I thought).  So I decided to go for a walk and clear my head and stop worrying.  When I came back the place was hopping and there was tons of people there.  Our Hearts went up and absolutely killed it; they played tighter than I have ever seen them play.  Zach from Our Hearts is probably one of my favorite entertainers on the mic during between song banter.  These are my favorite 3 Zach lines of all time…1)    Hey, ______!  Are we still going to that movie tomorrow night, cause yah…I really want to see that? –Song starts here…2)    Oh, I almost forgot!  Chris is getting a tortoise and it’s going to be like as big as a cymbal. – Song starts here…3)    Hi Paige, nice new hair due! –Song starts here….Just before we played Calin was sitting at the bar drinking a double and he knocked it over.  The bartender said, “don’t worry about it, what were you drinking” and then proceeded to pour him another one.  Moments later he knocked it over again and the bartender looked at him and said “last fucking time” and poured him another before saying “Jesus man, you got to play in like 10 minutes and you can’t even hold a drink.Rob and I went backstage and did some vocal warm-ups.  A few minutes later we got up and played our best show to date.  Calin played better than he has ever played before.  It was such a fun, random show.  We cracked some good jokes and had people come up on stage with us and dance and sing.  For our last song we played Curtis’ Zombie Movie and had Curtis come up and sing a long.  We then went back stage and did a little encore and ripped it up with Old Shore Road.  After the show my friend Kim drove me home and I ate some noodles in a cup.  We made enough money to pay off our split and we had a great show.  It was a really great night!Show

#14 - Blind Beggar with Frankie McQueen So we spent all day in the studio and then had to pack up our gear and go play a show.  We were so stoked because we never get to play with Frankie McQueen but unfortunately we were so tired we didn’t really get to enjoy it.  I had to work at 7:30 at the garbage dump (yah, great summer job I know) so I was really feeling it.  The plus side was you get a decent bar tab when you play the Blind Beggar and we got to eat on the house and have a few beers, and the food is fantastic. There was a pretty decent crowd because of Frankie and because of the Stampede.  We didn’t bring to many people and we felt bad.  All and all we played all right it was just a really tough crowd.  We were just happy to survive this long, long day. I snuck off pretty early and didn’t get to see Frankie McAwesome!  We need to play with those guys far more often though.  They are cool!  

Show #15 - Palomino, CBC Tour with Maybe Smith and Our Hearts This show was on a Tuesday night so we showed up early to grab a bite to eat and prep for an early start.  The Palomino is an infamous Calgary smoke house so I had a hearty meat platter and slugged back a few Pilsners.  We knew ahead of time that pay was going to suck because we were playing with a rad touring band that had a guarantee that had to be paid out first.  We brought a pretty good crowd between us and Our Hearts regardless of this fact.Just before we were going to start setting up our shit Spencer (the promoter) came up and told us that they had a mix up and that they were going to close at 12pm so either us or Our Hearts wouldn’t get to play.  What a fucking burn.  We haul all our shit down, bring our friends, play for nothing and then don’t even get to play.... I felt like throat punching someone.  So instead we negotiated to play 20-minute sets and Maybe Smith stepped in and said that they would cut down their set so we could play, this made us feel better.So we played a short and sweet set and felt pretty good about it.  Maybe Smith was rad.  The Palomino hurt my feelings (ha-ha for lack of a better emotion) so we felt a little bummed.  Calgary is a tough place to be a band; the venues and promoters in town are hard on a guy.  But we move on and grow thicker skin.  Spencer also told us when we were leaving that he would get us a show with a guarantee to make up for tonight.  We’ve heard nothing about it since the show. 

Show #16 - First Annual Vulcan FestThis was a crazy show!Some peeps we knew threw this giant farm music festival and had like 13 bands play and ran the entire thing like a mini one-day music festival.  It was soooo cool.So the whole thing started at like 11 am or some shit.  That being too early for me I had us arrive at 2 pm.  I swear I was drunk by 2:30.  We hung with our friends Frankie McQueen almost all day and caught random bands and chilled out in the shade.  It was really fun just hanging with Frankie.  The best part of playing in a band is that you automatically become friends with a band if you like each other’s music.  You get a posse of friends that you get to see all the time. Our friend Tyler of the Electric Monk came out with us but he hadn’t slept that night before because he ate a whole bunch of MDMA throughout the course of the night, so today he was walking around like a homeless zombie most of the day.  We were sort of worried about him so we made him drink some water and eat some granola bars then he crashed in the car for the entire evening.It was such an eclectic mix of music.  There was everything from acoustic to metal to indie rock to post punk to pre whatever.  Oh and just for the record I officially hate using the words pre and post....soooooo pretentious.  But regardless it was a really mixed crowd.  Most people seemed to be fucked up on Acid and mixes of assorted Ecstasy.  Some people were freaking me out a little bit, specifically the guys that posed as new age Incubus fans but instead appeared to be guys that listen to top 40 and drink Jag and Red Bull, yah they were fucked up but most everyone else was cool.  Which I guess in a way is every real music festival.  We decided to play it cool and stick to beer. My favorite bands were a young three piece called Deluge and a rad indie pop/rock band called Oh, Lenore, I dug these sets the most (next to Frankie of course).  I want to go catch these bands play again some time in the future.  I find that most local musicians suck dick at between song banter but this dude from Deluge was fucking hilarious, there songs were really good to but he was so good on the mic that you almost wanted him to just keep talking.  Oh, Lenore should be one of the biggest band in Calgary, they are really good musicians and they have great lyrics.  Both these bands had kind of floated past my radar previously but now I will be following them closely.So we felt pretty good till like 9 or 10 and then I just felt drunk, tired and burnt out.  You know that feeling you get when you are at Warped Tour and it is like 7 o clock and you just start to feel like shit, well that’s how we felt and we still had to wait hours to close things out.So at 1:30 am we finally got on stage and totally shit the bed the first two songs.  We pulled it together for a few then played a faster punk song and absolutely butchered it.  Then we did okay till the end.  I was feeling dead on stage, which is really unusual for me.  We called up our friend Drego who is Boris from Our Hearts Are Big’s dad to come play bass with us for the last song.  We got Frankie to come up and sing and we ended things off all right. We pounded back a few more beer and then Rob drove us home because we forgot our tent and it was cold as balls once the sun went down.!!!! Thanks for reading our show blogs.  We tell it like it is, these are 100% true.  We are not interested in bending the truth to protect people’s identities.  Thanks for your continued interest.  We will continue to keep journals of all our shows played as long as you keep responding and enjoying.  Thanks!Love,The Nix Dicksons

SHOW DIARIES (First 10 gigs)

The Show Diary - #1 to #10Hello Superfriends,We’ve decided to start posting re-caps of all our shows we play so you can get an idea of what it is like playing in the Nix Dicksons. We agreed that if we were to do this then we must be painfully honest. You guys are so great to us, the least we can do is shoot you straight about our behind the scenes situations. So some of the following posts aren’t pretty but they are all 100% true. Show #1: The ShamrockRob and I formed the band about 10 months prior to this gig. During those 10 months we lost our cool, female drummer and our drunken, naïve bass player. We also took a 6 months hiatus and scrapped all our songs except 2 or 3. So we decided this was basically like starting over. We couldn’t find a drummer for the life of us so we talked our friend and my roommate Calin Yablonski into joining the group. He had only been playing drums recreationally for about 6 months and he was nowhere near ready for a show. We told him to learn the new songs and get ready cause our first show was in a month. When I tried to book shows around town I realized no one liked to book new bands and that you had to start at the bottom. I contacted a band we really dug in town called The Lions for help and pretty much begged them for some pointers. The lead guitarist and vocalist Chris had previously given us a few compliment and we needed some mentoring. He came and watched us at an open jam and said he loved our songs but that we needed to change a few things around. He told us to play at the Shamrock because it’s the worst venue in the city and you need to pay your dues. So we agreed.When we pulled up there was a prostitute blocking our way into the parking lot. Rob suggested we just go home and watch Survivor man and quit the band. I almost agreed. We decided to go in and to our surprise the other 3 bands we were playing with were pretty fucking good. Frankie McQueen stole the show with their classic rock revival. We were absolutely scared to get up after them cause they were so tight. We ended up playing last and Rob said to me just before we went up that no matter what happens we need to be memorable. So we got up and played the worst set anyone has ever played. We went crazy and couldn’t keep on time at all. Half way through the set I felt like an absolute tool and decided after our last song I was going to quit. So since I was quitting anyway I decided to go out with a bang. I kicked over drinks, mouthed off the promoter (Rollie Mack) and called everyone on stage. I then ripped off my shirt and some old cougars in the back told me to take off my pants. I responded by yelling at them and telling them I would perform oral sex to them on stage, I then said I was going to shit on my drummer’s chest. I didn’t care since I only had one song left anyhow. So the last song we went absolutely wild and I was jumping off chairs, rolling on the ground, breaking strings, jumping on Rob’s back and smashing Calin’s new cymbals with my guitar. At the end of the song people kept coming up to us and telling us how rad the last song was. I was so taken back; I couldn’t believe people actually dug it. So I decided on the sweaty, bitter drive home that I would try one more show since the last song went so well. Looking back it was a good night. We needed to practice our set and calm down a bit. We weren’t a punk rock band but I acted like a member of Fucked Up. We also realized that 2 guitars and drums are too tough and that we needed a bass player. We became really good friends with Frankie McQueen because of that night so all and all it was a win in my books (just barely though).

 

Show #2 – Vern’s with the ShagbotsWhen we got a show with The Shagbots we realized we were going to have to prepare. We had over a month to prepare and we practiced our fucking Asses off. I switched to bass to fill out the sound and help Calin stay on time. We invited everyone we knew in order to push us and make us practice hard. We decided we wanted all our shows to be crazy and interesting so we all got pure white outfits including shoes, belts, shirts and jeans to give us a crazy look. We covered the stage with balloons and I somehow convinced my friend Curtis into getting into a giant X-mas present we wrapped (yes, it was a Christmas show) and to bust out during our set.Well it ended up that Curtis had to sit in the box through sound check and three songs so by the time he busted out his legs were dead. Instead of breaking out straight in the air he came out completely sideways and knocked my mic stand and me over. It was crazy but I thought it was funny. Our last song we got everyone up on stage, Rob and I went and rocked out on tables. I thought we were on top of our between song banter and were pretty funny.My parents surprised me and came out as well as all my classmates and friends I hadn’t seen forever. We got so drunk I could barely talk. It was a fucking awesome night. We got payed pretty well and The Shagbots were awesome.Taylor from the Shagbots told us we sounded like the Smashing Pumpkins, which we liked. We also got told we sounded like Weezer which we liked even more.

 

Show #3 – The Dog and DuckWe fucking love the Dog and Duck! It’s our neighbor hood pub and its mostly full of washed up musicians and left over hippies, which is why I dig it. These were the first place to offer us a paid gig so we were stoked. The sound was terrible despite the fact that we played good and we didn’t have a great turnout. But the few people who did turn up were cool so we had fun hanging out. We got paid $150 and a $100 bar tab so we got nice and drunk. Good night all and all

 

Show #4 – TropicanaWe got offered a last minute show with our friends the Lions. We played first then a really nice band called Flight was to play second followed by the Lions. We played the best set ever and then right after we got off stage Rob had a seizure. Since he has never had one before we called the ambulance and he was taken to Foothills hospital. We had to miss the remainder of the show and we never got paid a dime. We found out later that Rob had a brain tumor; needless to say it was a pretty rough night.

 

Show #5 – TropicanaAfter a few month breaks we decided to keep the ball rolling and invite our friend Zach from Our Hearts Are Big to play with us. Because of the big break I didn’t realize that our next show was again at the dreaded Tropicana. We had 2 big shows booked and the Lions offered us this gig and we decided it was good warm-up for Zach. We played pretty well with only a few minor mistakes. I decided to rock the fuck out and got on top of my bass amp to dance, I fell off and banged my ribs and had a tough time finishing the last song. Chris from Our Hearts came up to me after and told me I was punk rock. I was happy. We realized that we probably wouldn’t get paid shit so Calin and I decided to abuse the band bar tab and drank $130 worth of booze on the bar between the two of us. It was a punk rock night and we were happy to get back on stage.

 

Show #6 – The StetsonWe got offered to open for Molten Lava and the (ex choke) Passenger Action. Passenger Action is signed to Smallman Records and is a really respected band. I used to love Choke in my teen years so it was a dream come true to open for their new band. We got contacted by Punkradiocast.com to do an interview after the show so we were stoked (first interview yah!!!). About 175 people showed up so we had a great crowd. We played awesome, the crowd was huge but dull but nevertheless I feel I gave it everything I had which felt good. The interview went well and my mom told me I sounded philosophical which was cool. This was a really awesome show and we were happy to play it. This was Calins favorite show.

 

Show #7 – The Marquee RoomIt has been one of our goals to play the Marquee forever. After months of nagging, the promoter finally gave us a shot. He was cool and treated us really well and gave me some good business pointers. The opening band “Jet Fighter NOW” only brought like 4 people and took off right after but it was okay cause we had a really good draw so we didn’t need them. The sound guy Pat was fucking awesome, he made every other sound guy seem like shit. A ton of my friends showed up and everyone was really cool about standing up front and dancing. We played pretty well and had so much fun because the energy was so great. During All Girls Want we had a great sing a long and I spent the last 2 songs trying to break every string on my guitar. Chris from Our Hearts Are Big came up and said it was the best we’ve ever sounded, fuckin love that kid. The Marquee is an awesome venue. This was my favorite show, hands down.

 

Show #8 – Liberty Lounge (Mount Royal College)So I was sitting around Friday afternoon and I get a phone call from Darren from the Lions. He says the Chris is sick and therefore they can’t do their show at the Liberty Lounge that night. 2 other bands are opening and then we would fill in for the Lions and then the Matt Blais Connection headlines. Darren says it will be a great draw so we say yes. There is a ton of people there and the promoter is probably the nicest human being we have ever met. I don’t shower and I wear a filthy blue cowboy shirt, I feel like a rock star. The first two bands play and are super tight and really nice dudes (Archiles and Sisters Keeper). We were told we had 20 minutes after Sisters Keeper to set up and sound check and then they would announce us and we would roll out and rock n roll. Matt Blais chilled backstage the whole time and watched us set up and soundcheck. So after we get all set and sound check we go backstage for a drink and to shoot the breeze before we get called out. 5 minutes later the promoter comes up and tells us she is really sorry but Matt Blais wants to play next so we had to move all our shit because he is the main draw and they need to keep him happy. I was pissed because he sat backstage and watched us set up and didn’t say anything to us. I would have been happy to switch him spots but he made us setup and sound check and then got the promoter to speak to us instead of doing it he. After he came up and apologized but I was still kind of pissed. We decided not to watch his set since he seemed like a douche, so instead we sat backstage and drank. With 2 songs left we heard Matt start to cover The Weight by The Band. We love that song, and being that I was half cut I decided I should go out and join in. I grabbed Matt’s sunglasses from backstage and his tambourine and went out and rocked out with them. The band seemed cool with it but Matt seemed a little touchy. The crowd dug it and I’ve never seen Darren from the Lions laugh so hard in my life. When we finally got on stage we started real sloppy, but then we got our groove and started rocking out. No one stood up the whole show so when we started rocking everyone got up and danced and came on stage. It was a really great show. We got 2 encores and had to pull out every tune we knew. The promoter came up afterwards and said it was a good thing we were last because we were the perfect finale to the show, she also said we could drink after-hours on the bar. It was a rad show.

 

Show #9 – TropicanaWe had a miscommunication and ended up playing this show last minute. I didn’t want to play the Tropicana anymore since the owner Mark is a dickhead and they pay next to nothing. Actually, we played 2 shows there and hadn’t made a penny, I never wanted to ever play the Tropicana again but Chris from the Lions and I miscommunicated and we were obligated to play. I was pouting about this and decided if we were going to do it I was going to get wasted before the show. I was reading the Madcowboys cover story in Beatroute and they kept talking about throwing up on stage, I decided I wanted to try to do this though it never panned out in the end.Zach said he was too busy to keep jamming with us in April so we asked Mark from Needy Cat. I also asked Needy Cat to jump on the bill since it was last minute and we needed to try to extend the entertainment. The Electric Monk opened the show and he was great. Needy Cat had a few bumps but they were still awesome as usual. I wasn’t excited for our set since I wasn’t really prepared but we ended up playing our best show ever. The small yet energetic crowd dug us and we ended up playing 3 tunes twice. The Indie Calgary boys came out and filmed us and brought some of their friends. It ended up being a really sweet night. Despite the small crowd, we seemed to hit home with some new faces and prove ourselves. Mark was awesome tonight, we decided we didn't want to play without him ever again! New band member - maybe!?!

 

Show #10 – GCBC Lounge (Lethbridge Alberta)Wow, I forgot how fucking awesome Lethbridge is! The Indie Calgary boys decided to join us for this mini trip and they picked us up bright and early (10:30 am yikes) and we hit the open road. We stopped along the way in Nanton and Claresholm and did some interviews. Climbed some trees and played on the playground. It was a really fun drive down and it was such a beautiful day. When we got to Lethbridge we chilled out for a bit in the coulees and told some stories. I forgot how hectic Calgary is and how peaceful it feels being in a smaller city. We loaded our gear in early and the owner of GCBC told us we could play in the restaurant part if we wanted, I eagerly agreed. This is such a fucking cool venue; it’s an old fire hall so there are multiple levels and fire polls everywhere. We got free food and beers at 6 o’clock and then went to Chelsea from Needy Cats parents house for a few more drinks and some acoustic tunes. By the time we got back to the venue at 8:30 there were already 30 people there. I was half cut already and was in no mood to slow down. Needy Cat opened and absolutely killed it, they are soooo fucking good, Top 3 groups in Calgary for sure, they got everyone in the mood before we got on. Tons of people I haven’t seen in a long time showed up and we got wasted and rocked out super hard. The Indie Calgary boys made us a special montage DVD for the projector and we had a visual show during our set of He-Man, Ghostbusters, Thudercats, Evil Dead 2 and some other cool 80’s cartoons and movies.We got payed more than we have ever got payed and we wondered why we don’t come down to Lethbridge more often. The sound was shit but the crowd was so good it didn’t matter. Nathan from Indie Calgary and I tried out these giant beers called Mt. Beriue or something like that, they were delicious. We got off stage at 1am and grabbed all my good buddies and headed over to my friend Steve’s house to play beer pong. Steve and I partnered up and cleaned house for 3 games until Calin and Indie Nathan came up and kicked our ass. We all got hammered and stayed up real late. At 4 am I went and slept in the master bedroom and when I woke up I didn’t know where I was.Lethbridge was bitchin, The Nix Dicksons love you Lethbridge!Keep reading kids, we have tons of shows this summer so we will keep you posted!-Love, The Nix Dicksons

SHOW DIARIES (First 10 gigs)

The Show Diary - #1 to #10Hello Superfriends,We’ve decided to start posting re-caps of all our shows we play so you can get an idea of what it is like playing in the Nix Dicksons. We agreed that if we were to do this then we must be painfully honest. You guys are so great to us, the least we can do is shoot you straight about our behind the scenes situations. So some of the following posts aren’t pretty but they are all 100% true. Show #1: The ShamrockRob and I formed the band about 10 months prior to this gig. During those 10 months we lost our cool, female drummer and our drunken, naïve bass player. We also took a 6 months hiatus and scrapped all our songs except 2 or 3. So we decided this was basically like starting over. We couldn’t find a drummer for the life of us so we talked our friend and my roommate Calin Yablonski into joining the group. He had only been playing drums recreationally for about 6 months and he was nowhere near ready for a show. We told him to learn the new songs and get ready cause our first show was in a month. When I tried to book shows around town I realized no one liked to book new bands and that you had to start at the bottom. I contacted a band we really dug in town called The Lions for help and pretty much begged them for some pointers. The lead guitarist and vocalist Chris had previously given us a few compliment and we needed some mentoring. He came and watched us at an open jam and said he loved our songs but that we needed to change a few things around. He told us to play at the Shamrock because it’s the worst venue in the city and you need to pay your dues. So we agreed.When we pulled up there was a prostitute blocking our way into the parking lot. Rob suggested we just go home and watch Survivor man and quit the band. I almost agreed. We decided to go in and to our surprise the other 3 bands we were playing with were pretty fucking good. Frankie McQueen stole the show with their classic rock revival. We were absolutely scared to get up after them cause they were so tight. We ended up playing last and Rob said to me just before we went up that no matter what happens we need to be memorable. So we got up and played the worst set anyone has ever played. We went crazy and couldn’t keep on time at all. Half way through the set I felt like an absolute tool and decided after our last song I was going to quit. So since I was quitting anyway I decided to go out with a bang. I kicked over drinks, mouthed off the promoter (Rollie Mack) and called everyone on stage. I then ripped off my shirt and some old cougars in the back told me to take off my pants. I responded by yelling at them and telling them I would perform oral sex to them on stage, I then said I was going to shit on my drummer’s chest. I didn’t care since I only had one song left anyhow. So the last song we went absolutely wild and I was jumping off chairs, rolling on the ground, breaking strings, jumping on Rob’s back and smashing Calin’s new cymbals with my guitar. At the end of the song people kept coming up to us and telling us how rad the last song was. I was so taken back; I couldn’t believe people actually dug it. So I decided on the sweaty, bitter drive home that I would try one more show since the last song went so well. Looking back it was a good night. We needed to practice our set and calm down a bit. We weren’t a punk rock band but I acted like a member of Fucked Up. We also realized that 2 guitars and drums are too tough and that we needed a bass player. We became really good friends with Frankie McQueen because of that night so all and all it was a win in my books (just barely though).

Show #2 – Vern’s with the ShagbotsWhen we got a show with The Shagbots we realized we were going to have to prepare. We had over a month to prepare and we practiced our fucking Asses off. I switched to bass to fill out the sound and help Calin stay on time. We invited everyone we knew in order to push us and make us practice hard. We decided we wanted all our shows to be crazy and interesting so we all got pure white outfits including shoes, belts, shirts and jeans to give us a crazy look. We covered the stage with balloons and I somehow convinced my friend Curtis into getting into a giant X-mas present we wrapped (yes, it was a Christmas show) and to bust out during our set.Well it ended up that Curtis had to sit in the box through sound check and three songs so by the time he busted out his legs were dead. Instead of breaking out straight in the air he came out completely sideways and knocked my mic stand and me over. It was crazy but I thought it was funny. Our last song we got everyone up on stage, Rob and I went and rocked out on tables. I thought we were on top of our between song banter and were pretty funny.My parents surprised me and came out as well as all my classmates and friends I hadn’t seen forever. We got so drunk I could barely talk. It was a fucking awesome night. We got payed pretty well and The Shagbots were awesome.Taylor from the Shagbots told us we sounded like the Smashing Pumpkins, which we liked. We also got told we sounded like Weezer which we liked even more.

Show #3 – The Dog and DuckWe fucking love the Dog and Duck! It’s our neighbor hood pub and its mostly full of washed up musicians and left over hippies, which is why I dig it. These were the first place to offer us a paid gig so we were stoked. The sound was terrible despite the fact that we played good and we didn’t have a great turnout. But the few people who did turn up were cool so we had fun hanging out. We got paid $150 and a $100 bar tab so we got nice and drunk. Good night all and all

Show #4 – TropicanaWe got offered a last minute show with our friends the Lions. We played first then a really nice band called Flight was to play second followed by the Lions. We played the best set ever and then right after we got off stage Rob had a seizure. Since he has never had one before we called the ambulance and he was taken to Foothills hospital. We had to miss the remainder of the show and we never got paid a dime. We found out later that Rob had a brain tumor; needless to say it was a pretty rough night.

Show #5 – TropicanaAfter a few month breaks we decided to keep the ball rolling and invite our friend Zach from Our Hearts Are Big to play with us. Because of the big break I didn’t realize that our next show was again at the dreaded Tropicana. We had 2 big shows booked and the Lions offered us this gig and we decided it was good warm-up for Zach. We played pretty well with only a few minor mistakes. I decided to rock the fuck out and got on top of my bass amp to dance, I fell off and banged my ribs and had a tough time finishing the last song. Chris from Our Hearts came up to me after and told me I was punk rock. I was happy. We realized that we probably wouldn’t get paid shit so Calin and I decided to abuse the band bar tab and drank $130 worth of booze on the bar between the two of us. It was a punk rock night and we were happy to get back on stage.

Show #6 – The StetsonWe got offered to open for Molten Lava and the (ex choke) Passenger Action. Passenger Action is signed to Smallman Records and is a really respected band. I used to love Choke in my teen years so it was a dream come true to open for their new band. We got contacted by Punkradiocast.com to do an interview after the show so we were stoked (first interview yah!!!). About 175 people showed up so we had a great crowd. We played awesome, the crowd was huge but dull but nevertheless I feel I gave it everything I had which felt good. The interview went well and my mom told me I sounded philosophical which was cool. This was a really awesome show and we were happy to play it. This was Calins favorite show.

Show #7 – The Marquee RoomIt has been one of our goals to play the Marquee forever. After months of nagging, the promoter finally gave us a shot. He was cool and treated us really well and gave me some good business pointers. The opening band “Jet Fighter NOW” only brought like 4 people and took off right after but it was okay cause we had a really good draw so we didn’t need them. The sound guy Pat was fucking awesome, he made every other sound guy seem like shit. A ton of my friends showed up and everyone was really cool about standing up front and dancing. We played pretty well and had so much fun because the energy was so great. During All Girls Want we had a great sing a long and I spent the last 2 songs trying to break every string on my guitar. Chris from Our Hearts Are Big came up and said it was the best we’ve ever sounded, fuckin love that kid. The Marquee is an awesome venue. This was my favorite show, hands down.

Show #8 – Liberty Lounge (Mount Royal College)So I was sitting around Friday afternoon and I get a phone call from Darren from the Lions. He says the Chris is sick and therefore they can’t do their show at the Liberty Lounge that night. 2 other bands are opening and then we would fill in for the Lions and then the Matt Blais Connection headlines. Darren says it will be a great draw so we say yes. There is a ton of people there and the promoter is probably the nicest human being we have ever met. I don’t shower and I wear a filthy blue cowboy shirt, I feel like a rock star. The first two bands play and are super tight and really nice dudes (Archiles and Sisters Keeper). We were told we had 20 minutes after Sisters Keeper to set up and sound check and then they would announce us and we would roll out and rock n roll. Matt Blais chilled backstage the whole time and watched us set up and soundcheck. So after we get all set and sound check we go backstage for a drink and to shoot the breeze before we get called out. 5 minutes later the promoter comes up and tells us she is really sorry but Matt Blais wants to play next so we had to move all our shit because he is the main draw and they need to keep him happy. I was pissed because he sat backstage and watched us set up and didn’t say anything to us. I would have been happy to switch him spots but he made us setup and sound check and then got the promoter to speak to us instead of doing it he. After he came up and apologized but I was still kind of pissed. We decided not to watch his set since he seemed like a douche, so instead we sat backstage and drank. With 2 songs left we heard Matt start to cover The Weight by The Band. We love that song, and being that I was half cut I decided I should go out and join in. I grabbed Matt’s sunglasses from backstage and his tambourine and went out and rocked out with them. The band seemed cool with it but Matt seemed a little touchy. The crowd dug it and I’ve never seen Darren from the Lions laugh so hard in my life. When we finally got on stage we started real sloppy, but then we got our groove and started rocking out. No one stood up the whole show so when we started rocking everyone got up and danced and came on stage. It was a really great show. We got 2 encores and had to pull out every tune we knew. The promoter came up afterwards and said it was a good thing we were last because we were the perfect finale to the show, she also said we could drink after-hours on the bar. It was a rad show.

Show #9 – TropicanaWe had a miscommunication and ended up playing this show last minute. I didn’t want to play the Tropicana anymore since the owner Mark is a dickhead and they pay next to nothing. Actually, we played 2 shows there and hadn’t made a penny, I never wanted to ever play the Tropicana again but Chris from the Lions and I miscommunicated and we were obligated to play. I was pouting about this and decided if we were going to do it I was going to get wasted before the show. I was reading the Madcowboys cover story in Beatroute and they kept talking about throwing up on stage, I decided I wanted to try to do this though it never panned out in the end.Zach said he was too busy to keep jamming with us in April so we asked Mark from Needy Cat. I also asked Needy Cat to jump on the bill since it was last minute and we needed to try to extend the entertainment. The Electric Monk opened the show and he was great. Needy Cat had a few bumps but they were still awesome as usual. I wasn’t excited for our set since I wasn’t really prepared but we ended up playing our best show ever. The small yet energetic crowd dug us and we ended up playing 3 tunes twice. The Indie Calgary boys came out and filmed us and brought some of their friends. It ended up being a really sweet night. Despite the small crowd, we seemed to hit home with some new faces and prove ourselves. Mark was awesome tonight, we decided we didn't want to play without him ever again! New band member - maybe!?!

Show #10 – GCBC Lounge (Lethbridge Alberta)Wow, I forgot how fucking awesome Lethbridge is! The Indie Calgary boys decided to join us for this mini trip and they picked us up bright and early (10:30 am yikes) and we hit the open road. We stopped along the way in Nanton and Claresholm and did some interviews. Climbed some trees and played on the playground. It was a really fun drive down and it was such a beautiful day. When we got to Lethbridge we chilled out for a bit in the coulees and told some stories. I forgot how hectic Calgary is and how peaceful it feels being in a smaller city. We loaded our gear in early and the owner of GCBC told us we could play in the restaurant part if we wanted, I eagerly agreed. This is such a fucking cool venue; it’s an old fire hall so there are multiple levels and fire polls everywhere. We got free food and beers at 6 o’clock and then went to Chelsea from Needy Cats parents house for a few more drinks and some acoustic tunes. By the time we got back to the venue at 8:30 there were already 30 people there. I was half cut already and was in no mood to slow down. Needy Cat opened and absolutely killed it, they are soooo fucking good, Top 3 groups in Calgary for sure, they got everyone in the mood before we got on. Tons of people I haven’t seen in a long time showed up and we got wasted and rocked out super hard. The Indie Calgary boys made us a special montage DVD for the projector and we had a visual show during our set of He-Man, Ghostbusters, Thudercats, Evil Dead 2 and some other cool 80’s cartoons and movies.We got payed more than we have ever got payed and we wondered why we don’t come down to Lethbridge more often. The sound was shit but the crowd was so good it didn’t matter. Nathan from Indie Calgary and I tried out these giant beers called Mt. Beriue or something like that, they were delicious. We got off stage at 1am and grabbed all my good buddies and headed over to my friend Steve’s house to play beer pong. Steve and I partnered up and cleaned house for 3 games until Calin and Indie Nathan came up and kicked our ass. We all got hammered and stayed up real late. At 4 am I went and slept in the master bedroom and when I woke up I didn’t know where I was.Lethbridge was bitchin, The Nix Dicksons love you Lethbridge!Keep reading kids, we have tons of shows this summer so we will keep you posted!-Love, The Nix Dicksons