And so, the final installment of our on the road with Slayer writeups from Geoff… without further ado, over to Geoff… Hey Gang……..Def Gef 666 (4AM)…(identity crisis much?)…with the latest and last installment of the much-coveted, but ill-fated CHIMAIRA run with SLAAAAAAAYER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Operative word being ILL……………………….Mark Hunter, vocalist for CHIAMIRA has had to cancel the last few dates of the SLAYER tour due to a broken tooth which has resulted in a major infection. He has received immediate medical attention and should back in the game in less than a fortnight. Any goodwill tidings would be appreciated……feel free to write Chimaira ….and tell him to get off his ass and Jam !!!! >: P Mon Dec 3/01 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Theatre Finds us rather weary and worn out from 1333 mile drive from Denver, Colorado to Seattle , Washington…..all the snow and ice and 60 mile -an-hour-winds-kicking your ass you could possibly want. Drama for sure. But of course, we are TRIUMPHANT !! and not only that…I met the Psychedelic Furs while the boys wondered off after there set to check DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL, SOILENT GREEN and ZYKLON at a nearby venue. the ride to Portland was 90% picking style and being blown away by the drummers. Something like a Black Metal Conference. >: P I missed that show because I was loading out band gear and such, but when I returned to our “backstage ” area…merely a part of the hallway near the MENS toilet, sectioned off by a sheer curtain. We should have taken the lampshade off of the light and done shadow dancing for the good it did….BUT I DIGRESS…..on my way back…..I find a very drunk, and ranting, Sean Kinney of ALICE IN CHAINS….warbling on about how women shouldn’t be on the Road blah blah blah……..don’t know the whole story…….but it looked as if Cam from AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE’s girlfriend was about to trade a a few blows with mister Kinney. I believe the majority of us back there were anticipating that very thing……..and truthfully….my money would have been on Her. Tue Dec 4/01 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater A frenzied crowd all the way around and a night of pain. One geezer found his way over the balcony and into the Parting of the Red Sea……which included a trip to the Hospital with a complimentary broken neck……..jesus. Many folks found their way onstage in attempts to dive, but those dreams were quickly dashed …..and not by security…..but by us …..and the SLAYER crew. Club security was a bit lax. But even through our efforts, we still managed to not get everyone who tried to get onstage for their 15 seconds of glory…..one such bugger managed to trip up Mark from CHIMAIRA,resulting in his tooth being broken. We try to keep people off the stage for a reason….!!!!!!! That’s what meet and greets are for. But the most of people who get onstage and try to interfere with the band are always the ones who find themselves kicked out of the show before the headliner is anywhere near to coming on. These jackasses are the Eternal Losers who are drunk and puking well before the show has even started or end up being the prat who launches a full beer into the soundboard and brings the show to a grinding halt like the jackass in New York did. Good thing you bought those tickets in advance, eh? Bitter much? Thu 12/06/01 Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre I will need some volunteers to help me pick up all the names I may drop in the next few lines…. Ah….LA…..Home to some of the most jaded peeps on the planet. Crowd was dead….what little there were, considering how slowly they were being filtered through the metal detectors, but it was an Industry Night more than anything…all the Label peeps on this side of the world where there and you name a band and they were there that night. I ran into Tairrie B, Zach de la Rocha, Paul from Slipknot, Norwood from Fishbone, ManMadeGod, Roy from Soulfly, 311 was hanging out, Tommy, Mike and Rob from SPINESHANK….hell yea…….some of my favourite alchoholics and a few hundred others. Not the best night for band onstage, but at least it didn’t have the mishaps that AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE did when they started their set only to find that their drummer was missing for the the first 6 minutes of the set !!!!!!!! He was found in the CHIMAIRA Drum Warm-up room…warming up….nobody told him they were going on. DOH !!!! Incidentally…I have to add that today found the CHIMAIRA guitar heroes, Matt and Rob, getting a cuppla new guitars from ESP as they are so kinetic on stage and a bit dangerous, that they had BOTH broken the headstocks of their guitars while jumping and swinging about. Hell yea !! Fri 12/07/01 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield This would be the last show for CHIMAIRA…on the next day, Mark would wake up and feel a little off kilter. This SLAYER show was being videoed for DVD release, I believe….cameras everywhere…onstage, above stage, backstage….footage footage footage…as well as another celebrity revue backstage. Les Claypool of Primus and Oysterhead, Lars Fredericksen from Rancid, SKINLAB was hanging out..(.good ol’ Steev…handing out some rough mixes of their latest efforts.), Jodi Durst of 187CALM….and soon to be new guitar god. Dave Madix. Sun Dec 9/01 Fresno, CA @ Rainbow Ballroom Mon Dec 10/01 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Tue Dec 11/01 Phoenix, AZ Sadly the rest of these shows didn’t happen for CHIMAIRA…….but it ain’t over yet and I don’t see no fat lady getting up to sing . In the meantime….as Tom Araya would say…..Take care of yourselves……send Mark and the Boys a little e-love and let ’em know they are wanted in the UK/Europe. Lets hope the New Year will be a mostly sane one and full of American Bands drinking in a pub near you!!! later… ~ Def Gef 666 ~