The freedom to be drunk and disorderly

It's a poorly kept secret that the 4th of July is Johnny's favorite holiday. And it's also well known that his favorite thing in the world is to perform. So, if we can line up a 4th of July gig - his favorite thing on his favorite day - Johnny is one happy rock star.

So, you can imagine how happy he was this year when we were able to book gigs for both July 3 (Independence Day Eve) AND July 4.

The July 3 gig, our monthly First Friday residence at Junior's Grill and Icehouse in Round Rock, went well. The weather was nice and the crowd was good, except for one table that seemed to have a bad attitude - one girl, actually. She was with a group of people at a table right by the stage, which is always fun for the band. You really want the hostile people right up front where they can glare at you unobstructed.


This girl had attitude from the time she walked in. She gave us the stink eye. She sent her food back when it came. She fought with her boyfriend and stormed out. But don't worry - she came back.

I know. It was a close one.

At the end of the night, a much happier group on the other side of the room asked us for an encore. Because they were willing to toss some bills into the tip jar to seal the deal, we obliged. We realized we might've gone one song too long, though, because at some point during this last song, Stink Eye Girl decides that the Happy Group are making fun of one of our friends because they're dancing with him...because that's how you make fun of someone. You dance with them.

Anyway, Stink Eye confronts a blond girl in the Happy Group, and Blonde Girl wasn't havin' it. She got all up in Stink Eye's face, and we were pretty sure it was going to come to blows, but luckily, it just stayed at "attitude" level and didn't get physical. But we were all pretty distracted since it was right in front of us, and when we finished the song, that was the end of the encores.

Crisis averted, we packed up and called it a night. We were still talking about it the next day, though, when we went to our July 4th gig. We were pretty excited about this gig, because it was at a new venue: Austin's on the Avenue in Waco.

Austin's was pretty hoppin' considering it was a holiday, and we were pleased with the venue. Good stage, great staff, and a good crowd. It was a long, late gig, though, and we got a taste of the after-midnight party folk, which we usually don't deal with much. What this means is that for the second night in a row, during our last set, we watched a fight unfold directly in front of the stage.

I am totally serious, Kanye.

The fight had apparently started inside the bar between two girls, but it spilled into the outdoor area in front of the stage, complete with angry barefoot girls, security guards, a couple of cops, distressed friends, and assorted mildly amused boyfriends.

We had no idea what had happened this time, and I had to work extra hard to stay focused and not get distracted, because it occurred during one of our lyric-heavy songs that I sing lead on, and I am a very nosy person who wants to watch what's going on and see how it's going to end. That's a good way to forget what the hell you're doing. "On a dark, desert highway...did she just pull that girl's hair? She called her a what? Oh, sorry - cool wind in my hair..."

I managed to look away, though, and focus on doing my job, and again crisis was averted - this time by the security folks kicking one of the girls out. But we had to wonder - is our rock n' roll bringing out the animal in our audiences? Could it be that we incite uncontrollable passions with our savage beats? Or is it that (and I know this is a long shot) drunk people don't manage themselves very well?

Hard to say, but if our awesome music brings out the beast in you, we apologize. And thank you, God, for elevated stages that keep us and our equipment out of the fray.