They say all things must come to pass, but lately, they’ve been passing like a 300-pounder with a spastic colon passes gas. First, there was the mysterious disappearance of StonerRock.com, the website that every heavy rock site aspired to be. (The Obelisk has done a decent job of filling the void, but it still ain’t StonerRock.com!) Then, the off-again, on-again, off-the-air CKLN saga, which led to the end of Smokin’ Green and influenced my decision not to renew my domain. Accept tribute bands take note: as of August 26, 2011, TooHighToGetItRight.com will be up for grabs.
I first registered THTGIR in August ’07, after a weekend that still stands out in my mind. On Saturday, August 11th, Orodruin, Against Nature, Electric Magma and The Harold Wartooth played a gig at the Metal Bar to a grand total of 30 people–which might have included some of the band members. The following evening, my buddies in Georgian Skull got dicked around on a Roadrunner showcase gig as their set was moved back several hours due to the fact that they didn’t have another people on their list of paying customers. As a result of this poor set of circumstances, I decided that I would do something to get the word out about stoner rock in Southern Ontario.
Four years later, I’m not sure that I’ve accomplished what I set out to achieve. I know I wrote a lotta reviews that ended up in press kits for bands that didn’t otherwise get any press, and I played a lotta bands on the radio who’d never heard their music on the FM dial before. But it’s not like Diablo Red, Nice Cat and Electric Magma were selling out shows before they all went AWOL–although none have played live locally of late, Diablo’s the only one that has officially broken up. My attempt at putting on a local stoner rock festival, the Sunday Stoner Rock Spectacular, back in ’08, was a financial failure, and the site’s message board never caught on, though it did provide me with a place to post my Smokin’ Green playlists.
In fact, the deciding factor when the site came up for renewal last year was that I needed a place to post my podcasts of past episodes, which will still be available for download until the end of next month. Also, I have a handful of THTGIR t-shirts that I’m giving away for free. Drop me a line with your address and shirt size, and I’ll ship one out to ya, no questions asked (unless you’re outside of Ontario). Keep in mind that I’ve only got one XL, and nothing bigger than that, so if you’re one of the aforementioned 300-pounders, please don’t fart in my general direction.
Not to worry, Hellbounders, I’ll still remain active on this website, which has been my primary writing outlet for the past two years. I’m also toying with the idea of starting my own blog, an extension of what I do here, so if you’re one of my 200 or so regular readers, stay tuned for that announcement in the coming weeks.
Oh, and if I see you at a show in one of my shirts, I’ll be sure to buy ya a beer. Offer subject to affordability, of course. 😉
Peace,
Greg
