First off, My July 3 show at the GLC was the funnest gig I've had in a long, long time. To the group of rather conservative young ladies who refused to be rattled by my undergarment remark: TOUCHE! very well played. (I won't repeat their volley here, I'm not one for salt on my own wounds.) To Sgt. Foos: the best door-nazi this side of the Canadian. To Serena: thanx for being a bitch... no really.... To the dude who couldn't remember his girlfriend's name: we'll miss you, bro. And lastly to the poor girl who left on a stretcher: get well soon; we already miss yer exquisite singing voice. We even toyed with the notion of doing an annual thing, "Skitz O'Fuel's USA Up Yer Ass, 'Skitz loves America so much he celebrates July 3rd, bitches!'" My personal favorite, can't remember who said it, "Skitz O'Fuel's July 3rd Championship." Whatever happens, the 3rd certainly happened this year.
Thank You,
Ladies and Gentiles
Bo's 4th of July Picinic. The low turnout not withstanding, the music was fantastic. Dynamite Lazerbeam rules as always. It was really great to hear 'Goat swing on stage again. Macon fuckin Greyson... dudes always give a hundred and ten. [Harley is THE best live player in Texas right now... period]. Hope my after set party favors didn't make the drive back to town impossible... And Dale Watson. What the hell can you say about Dale Watson except the ol' boy is a master of his style and a true presence on stage. I remember going to see Waylon Jennings when I was in high school, the presence the dude had, his grasp of the moment and interaction with a crowd. Dale Watson and his gunslinger coat and his coin festooned Telecaster and his silver pompadour and that syrupy baritone have all that. As Buddy from MG put it, "This is my country music." Dale Watson gave us that gift on the 4th of July.
That was the weekend. Now, during my GLC show someone brought up MySpace and who's in their top list and a lengthy ultimately meaningless conversation ensued, however it sparked me to es'plain my top list... (told you i was bored...)
no explanation needed...
Luke Holder is a good friend, damn good songwriter. Been a fan of his since his days in a punk band called Brothers Grim. I 've played on all of his albums since then and I feel privileged to have done so. I've done two projects with Luke 1) Silver Merge: a pure studio project many years ago. 2) HOJP, or HO'-jap, a purely live acoustic group. You can also address him as Blacky Tobbacky under certain circumstances,
McDracula is known by several names: the Time Travelling Ninja, Brando Marlin, Perduedon't. His momma calls him Brandon Perdue. He and his wife and daughter (soon to be plural) are family to me. He was the last drummer for THICK and the only drummer I've really collaborated with on a regular basis since. Brando is the weirdest dude I know who can still function adequately in society. He should be a in a nuthouse, it's true, but he's pretty light on his feet... Brando makes irreverent, if not straight up vulgar music and short films... and he looks snazzy behind a drum kit.
Chris Whitley died in 2005. He was the single greatest influence on my musical life. That really sums it up. I can point to different bands and people throughout history but Whitely had something that cracked a weld in my heart and I've been happily bleeding ever since.
Gram Parsons Yeah, Buddy and the Big Bopper, Janis and Jimi, Cliff (Burton) and Kurt all went to soon, I agree. But if there was ever a death that was so heartbreaking in its incalculable effects on the future of American music it was the death of Gram Parsons. Emmy Lou said, "He was the only star in my sky."
Lonesome Goat are the swingin'est bunch of fuckers on the Texas Plains. Goat is what became of the Humans, a trippy-hippy jam band who were another local inspiration for me and to just nearly every musician in this town, comprised of THE best musicians, namely Rick Fawcett on pedal steel and Gary Wayne Thomason (of the late Groobies). Dave Regal is arguably one of the catchiest songwriters in ALL of North and West Texas. They're also a personal fav of X Country matriarch Jesse Scott.
AMP Recording Studio is the bedrock of all my musical efforts. Run by Drew Holder (Luke Holder's older brother), AMP has released albums from every genre and style of music from Gooder Graw to Tungsten 74 to Rodney Brannigan to Infliction and everything in between. It became birthplace of "asshole jazz" after the Sunday Night Midnight sessions. AMP is the recording icon of the High Plains thanks to Drew's laid back style, letting the artist relax and be at home in an environment where, usually, relaxation is hard to achieve. The true scope of AMP and Drew's influence on this region's musical culture will probly never be fully known. 
Golden Light Cafe & Cantina It's been the site all things Skitz. I have played, fought, drank, died, been resurrected, loved, hated, banned from, snuck into and cried in the Golden Light. It's an institution.
Bo Salling & the Brakes Are All Gone Band . No lie, not just cuz they're good friends of mine (on and off), not just cuz they're from my hometown: this is pound-for-pound the best live band I have ever seen, period. When these fuckers are ON... they will make a Baptist preacher throw chairs in a saloon... no shit... I've seen it. And one of my proudest recording credits is my slide work on their song "Cocaine Jane." And Bo kills with his "gospel mama" vocals on the end of my song, "Light the Fuse."
that's Angela's new baby, Jack Bebb, who conveniently looks just like his dad, the legendary Spike Bebb. Anglea owns the GLC. She's a good friend, was a good roommate, is the World's Strongest Midget, and she's married to the best songwriter in town. She's a champ...
Cadillac Fraf!
Emily Herring is a writer of perfect songs... i mean it. Perfection on every track. Her voice, for lack of an appropriate cliche.., is unique. I am a gargantuan fan. She needs to get her ass to Whiskyrilla!
the Schraags are Yellow City-Shitrock at it's finest. Based on the whiskey induced ramblings of resident rawk-bass master, Cliff Schraag. Cliff always has a positive message for the kids... 
Cameron McGill is a poet who sings. Met him on his little trek through the Whiskyrilla and immediately heard deep meaning every note, in every word. McGill is a true wordsmith-songwriter. The phrase "...phantom limb on yer family tree..." is enuff, in my opinion, to make this guy's words important....
Tungsten74 space rock of the royal flavor. These 3 super weirdos from Brooklyn, NY have recorded all their albums at AMP, made AP magazine, performed live soundtracks for touring theatrical plays, and probly inflicted some major hearing damage on unsuspecting teens during at least four cross country tours. On a hiatus for a short while now, Tungsten74 idle in the cold of space waiting for the right moment to strike from the edge of the cosmos... sry... i get a little carried away...
Bryan Wilson is one of those dudes who can play anything, and I do mean anything, on the guitar and make it look easy, and I do mean look easy. I am fortunate to have his pickin on my Joe Henry cover, "Topless Shoeshine." We worked in the same office together for a while and learned how to make fun of it all.
Sarah is Bryan's lovely English wife who is an old school computer talent, saved my digital ass more than once. She and Bryan are on the computers as much as me so naturally they stand prominent on my list.
Queens of the Stone Age. I was a huge Kyuss fan. Still a fan of all those guys, Brandt Bjork, Scott Reeder and Josh Homme, who rules the Queens with an iron fist full of sex, booze and weirdness...
Burns! Anybody have a really good drinkin buddy who can switch out the radiator on yer truck in under 10 mins? Well, I do. He's also one of the PBM boys.
Mick Feely is a founding memeber of THICK, had his own school of philosophy buried deep in an abandoned mercury mine near Teralingua, TX, is a constant target of universal moral disdain, and is also an all around good dude. He and his wife "Mamasita" have been my friends for as long as anyone. These days Mick pretty much sticks to male exotic dancing and raising various deadly reptiles.
ZZ Top no explanation needed...
Fu Manchu is another remnant of Kyuss (Bjork and Reeder have spent time in this band) with Scott Hill at the helm. Big influence on THICK. It's goodtime music but certainly heavy. If you gotta call it sumthin, call it surfer metal.
Supersuckers. When it comes to Satan, drugs, whiskey, dirty women, rock-n-roll, and a generally romantic treatment of petty crime, there are none higher than the Supersuckers. When Bon Scott died, rock lost something; when the Supersuckers formed, we got it right back and it--whatever it is--was pissed of and ready to party.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts no explanation needed....
Mike Watt is a legend and he should be recognized as such. Thank you, Iggy & the Stooges for giving Watt the audiences he's earned!
Moses Moran is a phenomenal musician, mostly gut-strung, weird shaped guitars. He was a versatile member of the Sunday Night Midnight crew. If he's in town, you can probly catch him playing with somebody and blowing the peeps away.
Oxes suck coxes!
Holly. I'm a sucker for a pretty lady with a cup of coffee. 
AJ Swope. I've always dug AJ's voice. Known him since the THICK days. He's also a local celebrity for other reasons but I don't own a TV so I'm not sure I know the reasons...
Dirty Jerrzy is my "ya-should've-at-least-tried." The cool chick. Wish her the best.
Branden, owner of the coolest landmark in town. An old friend, sold me my resonator and my Marshall. And made sure I got my Gary Fisher back when I needed it. Can pick on a six-string and tell ya who can't. He's also one of the PBM boys.
Bill Hicks, gone now, was a genius in his time, got his start in Lubbock, TX and at the time he was one of the few guys willing to cross those lines you weren't supposed to cross. A smart, smart man which is still hard to come by in stand-up comedy.
it's just me... we all know who she is. It's been a strange ride but yeah, we're friends.
Korte is great showman, great player. I've had many a fun moment on stage with Korte in HOJP, Ghost of the Golden Light and the few guest appearances I made with the Kickin' Wookies. Like the time when I forgot to park my truck after loading into Burberry's and we played a whole set before we realized, "those aren't street sweeper lights... those are my hazards!" I had left my truck in the middle of a downtown parking lane for an hour... with the door open.... Or the time I answered my phone on stage, and the poor lady who called a wrong number got an earful of whiskey-drunk Skitz on stage, over the PA.... those were the days... 
the 806 is the best coffee and the best atmosphere in town.
Claire Cunningham has a voice. A monster set of pipes. The kind of voice that once you hear it, you can't forget it; you'll always recognize it. And her song, "Don't Remember Me" is one of my over-all favorites on MySpace. Haunting progression and perfectly placed lyrics kept me coming back to listen over and over again. Some of you might recognize it from my acoustic set and maybe the few times I've done it with Electroids, but I've never done it as well as Claire.
Megster is a snappy dresser, always has a laugh, deep thinker deluxe... and I think she might be crazy... in a good way...
Josh Paulson. One of the best acoustic players in the region, Josh is gifted with a beautiful barrel-chested steam engine of a voice... then has the audacity to sing nuthin but lofty tunes about girls... diggit 
Bulldog interviewed me on the ol' interwebs for his radio show. Bulldog is just one one of those folks you meet for whatever reason and you wind-up keeping in touch at various times. Good man. Big supporter of my music.
Kandi. I know, i know... not my type, you say. But there's sumthin bout this wild (feral is more like it) model/dancer/singer from Dallas... She's a cutie and she's fearless... that's honestly what it is: she's fearless. 
