Agh.

"When routine bites hard…"
 
Lest I risk the chance of sounding like a presumptuous cod (which will happen anyways, regardless), it *was* originally Joy Division (and incidentally, their later reincarnation, New Order) that inspired me to make some sense out of sticks and large round objects, thus the homage I must pay in return.
 
But I never envisioned performing on the level that I did with Element Zero.
 
While I was the last band member to join, I was the first official fan. These guys had an incredible sound that translated so well to live performances. Having been in a few bands beforehand, it was an amazing thing to think that they had never played live, yet were able to pull something off like they did at the House of Blues (with panache' might I add), in such a short amount of time.
 
While I'm sad that the band's current incarnation is ending, I'm grateful for the two years (a lifetime in music) that we spent playing together, both in the "Dungeon of Groove" and on stage. Besides Patrick, Jeff and Dave, I also owe an enormous amount of gratitude to a select group of people for supporting my affections the last two years…
 
- Mr. Phil Roach, my mentor in drums – an awesome source of inspiration and was always ready to answer any inane question that I might've had concerning drums or life in general.
 
- My mom and my sister – sorry we never played "Brown Sugar" or "You're My Puppet", but you've always supported my affinity for music and I'll always be grateful.
 
- My sister-in-law Patricia and the LE Crew – they showed up to nearly all of our gigs and in true rock and roll fashion, almost always got kicked out for being such awesome and rowdy fans.
 
- My faux agent/manager/drum-tech, Jason and wingman-extraordinaire Patrick for suffering through "Under the Milky Way" repeated times.
 
- Charles Newton, our sound dude, for blowing my ears out every time we played "The Forest".
 
- My wife for being merciful and letting me sleep in, while "Todzilla" destroyed our kitchen – that is *true* love.
 
- The rest of my friends and family for not laughing out loud when a deaf guy told you he was going to be in a band all those years ago.
 
- Myself, for Jedi mind-tricking the band to hire me two years ago – beware the drummer who provides gratuitous alcohol at an audition!
 
Did I mention above how I'd end up being a presumptuous cod no matter what happened?

September 13, 2008 at 8:06 am, we welcomed the newest addition to our family – Matthew Eli.