The Ongoing Adeventures of Slackdaddy

SLACKFORCE! What it be? Well, as you all know we are on a bit of a hiatus now what with me being up in Charlottesville workin' on a quick MA in American Studies. Give me til next August and we'll be rocking your face off again. I don't want to tease you but there's talk of maybe some shows before then (winter maybe?) so stay tuned. Oh yeah, by the way: I GOT MARRIED! I know I know, Slack ladies its hard to see one-third of a sexy trio get hitched, but this is one hell of a woman. Her name is Roni and I'm sure some of you can attest to her magnificence. Thank you to everyone who made the wedding one of the wildest events of the year. I'm still there mentally. Bryan has been touring with Kevn Kinney, so get your butt out there to support our bassist and hear some AMAZING songs by Athens' most gifted singer/songwriter. Check out www.kevnkinney.com for those dates. Well, it sure feels claustrophobic in the Ivory Tower and I miss everyone VERY much. Keep faith in the Daddy for he will rise again. Yours in rock, Andrew
posted by Slackdaddy at 5:35 PM

Whats up Slackforce? Sorry about the lack of journal entries lately but they don't call us Slackdaddy for nothing. I can't wait for you guys to hear the new music we have been working on with Chris Bishop at Radium recording. Alot of these songs you may have already heard at our shows, but now you will be able to have and hear them whenever you want! we're thinking of calling the album Karmageddon, but don't hold us to that. Well, it's been a crazy beginning to the new year. I've rolled with some punches here and there, what with these damn shingles and all. That's right shingles! It seems that if you had chicken pox when you were young, the virus lays dormant in your spine until one day, due to stress, it re-activates. You're pituiray gland calls out to your lower spine "send in the POX!" and thereafter no cortizone can contain it. One must take heed of the physical manifestations of emotional turbulence and proceed to let that emotional need-carriage go. Peace is on the horizon. Can you hear it? Well, we are going to be playing alot over the next couple of months. EVERYBODY and I mean EVERYBODY come down to the 40watt club in Athens on friday January 31st for Slackdady's triumphant return. We'll be sporting new material and possibly a guest musician. We also scored a residency at the Star Bar in Atlanta. The last one of these gigs took the cake and its all because of YOU-our awesome fans. I can't express enough how amazed we are at the level of loyalty. Stay slack, Andrew
posted by Slackdaddy at 8:47 PM

Hello All, This is Bryan J. Howard, Slackdaddy's bass man, just thought it might be time for a little catching up with the journal entries. Things have been going well for us down here in Athens, GA. We have been in the process of recording what will probably become our third album with the talented Chris Bishop working the knobs and buttons. Things are sounding really fantastic. As some of you may know, I have recently been out on the road touring as the bass player for the Kevn Kinney Band. This had to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Kevn has been one of my favorite singer/songwriters since my days at James Madison University. My friend and roommate Andy Stitt (our ever diligent webmaster) obtained a copy of Kevn's first solo album, MacDougal Blues and we have both been hooked ever since. I am still amazed that one of my favorite artist asked me to go on tour with him. Kevn, Mac, Dave and Scott were a great group of people and made the hours and hours in the van go by quickly. Everything happened so quickly. I was working my regular job on march 21and the next morning I woke up in the parking lot of Graceland! I knew that this was going to be an adventure. When I was first approached about playing bass, I was under the impression that they wanted me for one or two shows. Somewhwere along the way, I wound up playing on all but five shows (Gibb Droll took over on bass when I had to return to Georgia). The first show I played with the band was in Memphis. I had played with Kevn before but never Mac or Dave. We had 20 minutes of practice at soundcheck and then it was showtime. I think we had about an hour's worth of practice time over the course of the entire tour. I have to say that one of the best things about being out on the road with the Kevn Kinney band was meeting their fans. They were all very nice and enthusiastic. I was amazed at the stories I would hear of people traveling great distances to attend the shows. I met one couple who had flown from San Francisco to Atlanta and rented a car and driven up to Nashville to see Kevn at the Exit In. That's dedication! I met so many interesting people along the way who are too numerous to possibly mention here. This experience has made me a much better musician and I am now more prepared than ever to make Slackdaddy one of the best bands ever. Slackdaddy will be hitting the road again soon and hitting it hard. So keep your eyes open for the Daddy in your town. Bryan J. Howard
posted by Slackdaddy at 7:01 AM

Happy New Year from all of us at Slackdaddy Headquarters. After a short Christmas sabbatical, we are all ready to get back on the horse and pull in the reins for a new epoch. Bryan and Ian spent the holiday in VA with their respective parental units, while I and my girlfried, Roni, kicked it in Mexico with our parental units. Mexico was fantastic: the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure, although it sure was weird listening to Christmas carols in view of torquoise waters and building a Christmas tree from seaweed and shells while doing tequila shot after Tequila shot after Tequila shot until the very demon ghost of Montezuma came zooming out my butt. The highlight for me was snorkeling through an underground network of crystal-clear rivers. These sacred water sources, called Cenotes in Mayan, were both nourishment and a place of sacrifice, so swimming with a flashlight through them was intriguingly spooky. When breaks in the cave ceiling allowed light to filter in, we were witness to a rare aqualine beauty: an underworld of prismatic splendor. The thirst for this hidden beauty almost got us in trouble. In one part of the cenote, we found a narrow passage in which it was necessary to dive down in order to come up in a breathing hole. I knew it was a bad idea from the start, but you know how pack-mentality operates, and a moment later all five of us were banging snorkels in a five by five breathing hole. Knowing that we were in over our heads, literally, we decided to go back. On the turn around dive, however, one of my flippers fell off and I was forced to make a somewhat panicked decision to either head back up to the breathing hole or push on to safety. I thought, “AAaaaaa!” and pushed on to safety---out of breath yet invigorated. PHEW!!!! Nothin' like a life or death decision to get the blood movin'. Other highlights were seeing a giant yellowfin Tuna and a massive stingray while snorkelling off the beach house we rented on the Carribean sea, not to mention countless tropical fish. And my dear mother, who hasn’t been out of the country in a long time, was a trooper on those long walks through ancient Mayan ruins. I like Mayans because they sacrificed cross-eyed virgins after feeding them magic mushrooms to appease the gods. That’s way cooler than prayer. Well, Slackdaddy is rocking at Tasty World on January 15th so BE there for a taste of the new Rock. We’re playing with SKYCHURCH, Robert Herndon’s awesome new band. On a graver note, Slackdaddy is mourning the loss of two souls that moved on this holiday season: Bryan’s step-father Harvard Harriston and my next door neighbor's mother, Betsy Butler. We will miss them immeasurably. Peace, Andrew
posted by Slackdaddy at 7:52 PM

I hoped to go see the meteor dark horse Bubba Sparxxx tonight, but I was unhappy to find his show wasn't happening at the AMF. I was all ready to get my Bubba on and witness first-hand this sudden star. I hope everyone's doing alright in the world of TERROR. I can't abide the times so I pontificate daily. It helps. So whats the scenario------FALL. I love it for many reasons. October especially as I empathize with darting shadows. There is a sharpness to the air that promotes the industry. And I love the fishing this time of year. There's nymphing for trout and deep water jigging for bass. I particularly love lake fishing this time of year, when you can take in the fiery autumnal swansong while you probe the depths. OCTOBERFEST!!!!! Give me a polka band, a bratwurst, and a Warsteiner and call me Gunther. Godspeed--- Andrew
posted by Slackdaddy at 7:01 PM

Andrew here. September 11th was by far the most horrible day people of my age have ever experienced. We here at Slackdaddy headquarters knew several people who were in downtown Manhattan and the Pentagon when the attacks occurred. We are relieved that no one we knew got hurt but saddened by the great loss of life. Above all, we are proud to be Americans. Look for more Slackdaddy songs that inspire patriotism. On a creative note, we are weaving a lush mythology that will transcend all your expectations. I can say no more.
posted by Slackdaddy at 8:50 PM

Hello All, Bassman, Bryan J. Howard here. I just wanted to let you know what has been going on with the Daddy. We were hoping to be on the road right now but circumstances have forced us to postpone our plans, temporarily. We will be going out soon and details will be posted on the tour page as soon as shows are confirmed. In the meantime, we have been hard at work in our home studio compiling new songs. Right now, I would say that they are in the pre-demo stage. I imagine they will start making an appearance in the "rare/live" section of our music page. We are also premiering some Neil Young covers in our music section. Here is the story on those three songs and how we came to record them.
We played a beneift for the Athens Area Humane Society last August at the Fabulous 40watt Club and the evening's theme was a tribute to Neil Young. Well, our ever vigilant webmaster, Andy Stitt is a HUGE Neil Young fan and made us promise to get the show on tape. We had the DAT recorder all set up and a video camera for back up and of course we forgot to hit record on both. Wanting to be men of our word, we recorded those songs in our home studio so that Andy could hear them and until now he was the only person outside of the band to have ever heard these recordings. We now present them for public consumption. So visit the music page and hear Slackdaddy's take on "Like a Hurricane", "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "After the Gold Rush". We would love to hear what you have to say about the newly revamped site as well as our new album, Supercell. If you haven't purchased a copy of "Supercell", don't wait go directly to Athensmusic.net - they are the only place online to purchase it and the only place anywhere that has our entire discography for sale. Right now, they also have a limited number of Slackdaddy T-shirts so get one of those as well. Of course if you live in the Athens, GA area you should buy your copy from my favorite record store ever, Low-Yo-Yo Stuff (located right next door to the 40watt Club) or any of the other downtown record stores.
Please let us know what you think in the Guestbook section of this site. We want to know what you think. More to come soon so never stop a rockin'!
Bryan J. Howard
posted by Slackdaddy at 10:07 AM