Check out Synthetic Division, Inertia and Bella Morte on Monday night (August 29) at The Delancey in the East Village in NYC.  7:30 pm doors, we start the show at 8 pm sharp. No cover, 21+!

We picked a fine time to tour the northeast coast, didn’t we?

This week has been kind of crazy, keeping tabs on the storm and keeping safety first and foremost in mind. I gave Andy of Bella Morte a ration of shit for naming their new album Before the Flood. I think he’s to blame for the bad weather. He names the album Sunshine and Goldfish and we’d have a whole different situation on our hands…

One of the convenient aspects of this tour was that Josh and I were planning on staying with his family for four nights, since the first three shows were so close together.  But after Cambridge, MA was postponed, we headed out of the area a bit earlier than expected to avoid Irene’s wraith. Josh and his father did get to enjoy a couple of days together, which is always an added bonus of these Synthetic Division jaunts.  As we were there, his dad was so inspired by all the iReporting that was going on with Hurricane Irene that he whipped out his camera and shot this footage of Josh and I returning to his home with water.

I’m beyond thrilled that the hurricane became a tropical storm and that the damage wasn’t the worst case scenario that was being projected.  I’m a prevention guy, so I really don’t mind being warned and thus easily avoiding otherwise disastrous consequences.  That’s why I was ready to get out of dodge completely if need be. Last night after the second show in Manchester, NH, Josh and I started making our way closer to NYC (avoiding I-95 and taking a more inland route), but were unable to make it to our friend’s house 4 hours away and had to seek shelter in Connecticut due to heavy rain and wind.

Until the storm landed in NYC earlier, that show seemed to be hanging in the balance. Earlier today, we woke up to find out that it’s still on, which is cool as it will be nice to see a lot of my friends who live the area. After that we return home to C’ville home for a day or so before the Charlotte show on Wednesday night.  The shows have been going really well, despite low turnouts due to concerns over the weather.

Better safe than sorry.

One of the coolest things about being on this tour is hanging out with my friends in Bella Morte, goofing around with Josh and discovering a new band (new to me at least!) in Inertia. They traveled all the way from London to be a part of this tour, and are not only a great band but a great group of people.  It’s been fun chatting about music, movies (seeing Human Centipede is now at the top of my priority list) and overcoming some of the obstacles this tour has put in all of our paths. It’s been a true bonding experience.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Flower children- Bella Morte and Synthetic Division in Providence, RI at Remi’s.

Me with Inertia, minus guitarist Gabe, who was busy sniffing the flowers.

Here are the final details for the Synthetic Division shows on the Bella Morte tour. Hope to see some of you on the road! Will try to blog some updates while traveling, but will likely be spending the next few days getting ready before I leave town.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Friday, August 26 Providence, RI
Club Remi’s http://www.facebook.com/RemisProvidence
9pm 18+

Saturday, August 27 Manchester, NH
Milly’s Tavern www.millystavern.com
9:30 pm  $20  18+ (This is a charity event to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank – http://www.nhfoodbank.org/

Sunday, August 28 Cambridge, MA
The Middle East
http://www.mideastclub.com
7 pm (Synthetic Division on around 8:30 pm) $15 advance, $18 at door 18+

Monday, August 29 New York City
The Delancey
http://thedelancey.com/
FREE 21+ Doors at 7:30: Synthetic Division on at 8 pm, Inertia at 9 pm and Bella Morte at 10 pm

Wednesday, August 31 Charlotte, NC
http://www.themilestoneclub.com/
Doors Time: 8:00PM
Tickets $10 adv $15 at door 18+

In two weeks I’ll be in NYC playing a show in the lower East Village at The Delancey. Synthetic Division goes on at 8 pm, followed by Inertia at 9 pm and Bella Morte at 10 pm.  It’s an early show, and a great way for you NYC peeps to start your week.  Plus, if as many people as I know and love who live in the city come out to support the show, I may be invited back!
Monday, August 29 7:30 pm (21+)
168 Delancey Street
 New York, NY 10002
Free show! No cover. And free condoms too, thanks to One Condoms. (Let me know you’re coming on the Facebook Event page.)

The venue has a capacity of 200, and I’m confident that we can fill the place up. So help this positoid out and spread the word, would love to see you all there!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

My good buddy Ben was the first to step up to the donation plate. Boston-bound himself, my putt putt rival found it in his heart to sponsor an old pal heading out on the road. I look forward to toasting him, and perhaps sharing a personal story of our friendship in a future blog entry that may or may not be on Sunday, August 28 when Synthetic Division plays in Boston with Bella Morte, Inertia, Strange Affection and Anar at:

Middle East –
Upstairs

472 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

PS… Ben and I are doubles tennis champs amongst our friends in our CHILDREN OF THE COURT tennis league, having defended the title a record 12 times in a row. Check us out. Fans of Decker’s Daily might remember this moment making my Top 10 Mocha Moments of 2010.

A lot of bands have far worse habits than mine, such as drugs, booze, loose women/men and spandex. But for Synthetic Division, the thing that fuels us are iced mochas. (Well, Josh prefers a hot drink, but he is forgiven.)

With the tour coming up soon, I’m trying to figure out the finances. The biggest hurdle is gas money.  I thought that a fun way to defray that cost would be to beg my loyal readership for mocha money.  I’m looking for a sponsor for each city.  Basically, wherever Josh and I land, we’ll take a photo of us enjoying our beverage with a thank you card with our generous sponsor’s name on it.  It’s the closest thing to being on the road that can be offered, and never before has a band broken down the fifth wall of rock n’ roll the way I am now.

So, here’s how it works.  There are 6 cities: Providence, Manchester, Boston, NYC, DC and Raleigh.  I’m looking for one sponsor per city.  For $20 (tip money for baristas included, as well a couple of muffins for sustenance), you get the commemorative “cheers” via photo, blog shout out from the road, and a Shawn & Josh having espresso drinks button mailed to you when I get back from the jaunt.  All you have to do to help is name the city you want to sponsor and paypal $20 to “shawn at mypetvirus dot com”, but type that as an email address of course.

My feet are firmly placed on Earth.  I know the country is in a recession.  This is aimed squarely at folks who enjoy my writing and music, have a soft spot in their heart and a $20 bill in their wallet to burn.  It’s that simple.  If I can get gas expenses covered, I may break even on the road since the kindness of friends and family means we don’t have to spend one dime on a hotel room.

Pretty nifty.  In the big picture, I am beyond thrilled to play some shows. Music has helped to provide me with comfort of the soul my whole life.  Making music is a great thrill, and having the health to hit the road for a week is not something I take for granted.  As always, thanks for following my journey by reading this lil’ ol’ blog.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Who can forget Celine Dion’s Titanic theme, “My Heart Will Go On”?  Well, if you did achieve the miracle of forgetting this song, then sadly I am here to remind you.  Bella Morte played their cover of this song about a decade ago… this year they finally recorded it.  A fan made a YouTube video featuring Leo and Kate from the movie.

Enjoy!  Will they play this song on the tour?  You’ll have to show up to find out!

One of the highlights of last year was putting out A Symptom of Life and hitting the road with my friends to play some music.  Synthetic Division opened for Bella Morte, and we laid down some synthpop, drank some iced mochas and gave out some Synthetic Division ONE condoms.  Well, this summer we are doing it again!

Once again, we are sticking to the East Coast.  Here’s the tour route as it stands now, with additional shows soon-to-be-announced for Washington DC (August 30) and Raleigh, NC (August 31)….

Hope to see some of you on the road!  I’ll be posting more about the music in tour in the coming days, and probably begging you guys to buy some CDs and t-shirts to help cover the gas costs. Maybe I’ll put together a supersaver package or something that’s completely irresistible. ;O)

Positively Yours,
Shawn

On Monday, June 6, Gwenn and I will be participating in an anti-stigma music video to help people with HIV feel like exactly what they are- productive, meaningful members of society.  The director, Monte Montgomery, has done some great videos already. Check them out below.

Love the message of empowerment for people living with HIV.  If you do too, and you’re in the DC area, please consider joining me and Gwenn on June 6.  Read below to find out more about the video shoot, and we hope to see you soon!

 What: Audio/video
recording session of “Ready to Live,” a song about fighting HIV/AIDS
stigma, to be performed live by Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010, for
distribution online and exhibition in clinics and waiting rooms around
the world. 
When:  Monday 6/6/11, approx. 3-7pm
Where:  Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, corner of 14th & Park Sts. NW
 
Who:  A “flash choir” consisting of HIV+ and HIV- performers, identified as
such by colorful badges that first hang around necks, then are tossed
in a trash can to symbolize how insignificant status will be in a
post-stigma world.

Pay: None, but food/drinks/snacks will be provided, you’ll meet a lot of cool people, and it’s a heck of a good cause.  

Clothes and the Song:    
Clothes are totally up to you.
Lyric:  Only three words:  ”Ready — to — Live.”  Easy!  
Rhythm:  Must be able to clap on beats 2 and 4.  Easy!  

Interesting in participating with us? Then contact Monte by email and let him know. Hope to see you in DC on Monday, June 6!  

Here’s a few clips of a few of the moments referenced in the previous blog entry…

Andy Deane, ChaCha Stowers and Conley Jones performing “Evensong” by Bella Morte
 
Then I said a few words, shared a funny moment I had with Bryce, and told people to grab some condoms.
 

Then Jdavyd Williams played a moving cover of Bryce’s favorite Placebo song, “Special Needs”.  An unforgettable night. Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of them.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Got lots swirling around in the ol’ nugget today, but I want to lead out with yet another remembrance of Kurt Cobain.  I know many think he’s overrated and overmentioned, but this week marked 17 years since he took his own life… time flies, doesn’t it?

Near the end of high school, I really got into Nirvana.  The first time I heard them was just before Teen Spirit blew up. It was a random group of guys, hanging out in someone’s basement.  A cassette tape was pulled out and played, and despite the different musical tastes of everyone in the room (from Primus, to Depeche Mode, to Phish fans) we all agreed: Nirvana was awesome.

One thing I loved about Cobain was his understanding and empathy of the underdog.  Back before the modern era of Lady Gaga- a strong advocate for the gay community- Cobain rose to fame on the strength of a catchy guitar riff and an intense music video that MTV played with the feverish excitement that is now solely reserved for reality TV shows.  At the height of his fame Cobain did an interview with The Advocate Magazine, appearing on the cover to talk about how he appreciates the gay community.  Since we all know his music, I thought it would be more interesting to share this.

At the time, I probably appreciated his stance of gay issues because I’d taken a small amount of shit for in junior high and high school for having Depeche Mode as my favorite band. They were European and played keyboards, in Waynesboro, Virginia that somehow qualified as being gay. I don’t know how many times I was told my favorite band was gay- so many times that I figured it didn’t matter if they were or not.  It’s funny, but even the thought that a band was gay, a band that had influenced me and helped guide me through the somewhat treacherous experience of puberty, probably had a lot to do with my opinion that sexual orientation is not something that matters in the slightest.

Speaking of Depeche Mode- I had the great experience of helping my friend, Andy Deane of Bella Morte, with a cover of one of Depeche Mode’s classic songs. It sounds great- I’ll reveal the song when Andy does. It’s being done as part of Bella Morte’s Kickstarter campaign to help fund their new record, After the Flood.  The Depeche Mode cover is an exclusive giveaway to anyone who donates to their campaign, which ends of April 16. So if you want the tune, and want to help a very gay-friendly group of musicians in their own right, you have a week to donate.

It was a lot of fun singing back-up vocals on a song that I’d drive circles around Waynesboro singing in my car back in the day. Glad I could put the harmonies I worked out twenty years ago to good use!

Lastly, I’m humbled by the kind response that the Synthetic Division music video has received.  If you want to hear me talk about music more, then check out an interview I did for Horrorshow Radio this week, The Life and Times of Shawn Decker.  Geek Crafts also featured the “Out of Time” video, and called me a “geek chic trifecta” due to my involvement in music and writing, as well as the fact that I named my band after math… Speaking of the music video, if you look closely you’ll see a Depeche Mode music video within the Synthetic Division music video. (It’s not a clue as to which song Bella Morte covered, btw!)

Hope you have a great weekend.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!