Our name was going to be “Drop” — something to do with Madonna dropping a baby, I think; I never asked — but this is when every band in San Diego had a one-word name, so we went with “Ten Ton Pug” instead. Then every band in San Diego had a three-word name, and we were hosed.
Our singer had photocopied a movie poster for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and superimposed a photo of a pug onto it. He was slick that way, and I used to run his artwork in the zine I published back then.
So, the 50 Foot Woman’s pug weighed, you guessed it, ten tons. I think technically he was her “Wonderpug Snookie,” but you can’t really call a band “Wonderpug Snookie.”
I dunno, maybe you can. Maybe we should have, but we didn’t. Our singer wrote lyrics about people suffering from AIDS, I quoted the Tao Te Ching. Yeah, we were totally connected.
Nobody cared. We were young and dabbling at disaffection. We ate unbalanced meals, sat on cliffs overlooking the beach, and lamented things we thought we understood.
We had no clue.
I’ve told you about our first show (although now I’m thinking it may have been at Granny’s, and not the Boiler Room). After I bought the Marshall, we landed a gig up at a place called Surf ‘N’ Saddle in Solana Beach. It’s still there, though I haven’t been inside since we played.
Some friends made promotional fliers, which riffed on Spinal Tap — a quote from “Sex Farm Woman,” as I recall. We showed up at the appointed time and watched workers pull apart the floor in front of the stage.
We set up our equipment. My mid-’70s Gibson Les Paul Studio and the spankin’ new Marshall, complete with Lt. Commander Data action figure on top for good luck, maybe some Mardi Gras beads. Basically whatever I could find that seemed like it might bring good luck.
Then the workers left. We didn’t know if they had gone on break or were done for the night. Either way, they’d left stacks of linoleum between us and the stage.
Someone asked the bartender what was going on, but he seemed as enlightened as we were, which is to say not at all. We stood around and stared at each other, wondering what to do. Our friends drank. I got quiet, because I always got quiet before a show, and turned to the television in the corner.
The Padres were playing the Rockies at Coors Field. Bob Tewksbury worked six strong innings and left with a 9-2 lead. Then this happened:
Bryce Florie pitching:
- Vinny Castilla, groundout
- Andres Galarraga, hit by pitch
- Jayhawk Owens, single
- Quinton McCracken, single
Ron Villone pitching:
- John VanderWal, single
- Eric Young, walk
- Walt Weiss, single
Willie Blair pitching:
- Ellis Burks, double
- Dante Bichette, intentional walk
- Castilla, grand slam
- Galarraga, hit by pitch
Glenn Dishman pitching:
- Owens, single
- McCracken, flyball
- VanderWal, walk
Tim Worrell pitching:
- Young, single
- Weiss, strikeout
The Rockies sent 16 men to the plate, and 11 of them scored. They now held a 13-9 lead.
Scott Livingstone launched a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to make it close, but the Padres lost, 13-12. I’m assuming we took the stage sometime between Villone’s outing and Blair’s, because I distinctly recall being infuriated with the former but not the latter.
The only other thing I remember from that night is that we played Cheap Trick’s “Surrender.” By the time we got to the last verse, I’d pretty well figured out what had happened to this season’s losers of the year…
I think posts like this are exaclty what makes Duscksnorts so amazing and valuable in the baseball blog community. I still shudder when I think of all the valuable time I used to waste on the team’s MLB board at Padres.com.
Great writing Geoff, as usual. Although I question the wisdom of a post titled “Surrender” the day before our first ST game (kinda kills the hope machine at first glance), I appreciate your sentiment all the same. I think it’s the woefulness of my early years as a Padres fan that makes their time at PETCO so much better.
Not sure where this is going, but great stuff. Thanks for devoting your thoughts and time to your loyal readers. We really do appreciate it.
Nice breakdown of the competition in LF: http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20080227-9999-1s27lfchart.html
Glenn Dishman? Who the hell was that? I didn’t live in San Diego during the summers in that time but I was here the rest of the time and I don’t even remember that guy! Reading those names brings me back to my youth though — the Tewk, Jayhawk Owens.
Geoff, it’s interesting on that same day your band makes it debut, two of the pitchers in that Padre game later got nailed in the face with line drives. If I were Ron Villone or Jamey Wright, I’d be worried.
I’ve tried to put that game out of my mind but I can still remember exactly where I was when I was listening to that game and the empty feeling I felt in my stomach when it was over. It definitely ranks up there with my all-time worst Padre memories, along with the blown extra inning game in LA in 2006 (four consecutive homers to tie, Nomar hits a walk-off to win) and the wild-card playoff loss to Colorado last season. Thanks for bringing that up Geoff.
I think “any news is good news” for Paul McAnulty …
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20080226-9999-1s26padnotes.html
… says he’s taking some ground balls at 3B … cool.
Also, the Padres were scheduled to play an intrasquad game …
Three starting pitchers from the Padres affiliate that won the Texas League title – Josh Geer, Wade LeBlanc and Cesar Ramos – are among the 12 pitchers slotted for today’s intrasquad game. Also due to pitch is left-hander Wil Ledezma, one of several candidates for the No. 5 job.
… any way to get news from that?
5: The U-T blog has a short update. Ramos retired all 6 hitters he faced, which included 5 starters. Morton hit a three run homer off of Ernesto Frieri.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/weblog/index.html
I know I saw Pure Milk at the Boiler Room several times in the mid-nineties, so there’s a pretty good chance that I saw Ten Ton Pug, as well.
Off topic, a week from tomorrow we’ll be on the road to Peoria!!!
6 … THANKS!!! I nominate this for “Comment of the Year” … GAME ON!!!!
ps. And the sun is shining in Corvallis … aaaaaahhhhhh!
A commentor at madfriars.com pointed me this recent look at Mat Latos …
http://minorleagueball.com/story/2008/2/25/17230/6720#commenttop
… and prompted me to post a comment there which I think you will enjoy (it includes a link to some pictures of Latos that I took on Opening Day, 2007) …
I remember Glenn Dishman. Lefty, right? He was a fifth starter, sorta came out of nowhere. His first few outings were decent, if I remember right. My friend and I saw him pitch at Dodger Stadium, and then close to then we saw him pitch against San Francisco (if I remember correctly) on television. We started calling that season the “Glenn Dishman World Tour.” He ended up not being that great.
8 – It was bright and sunny here in Molalla too, and getting amped to go see the Beav’s play UGA this weekend at PGE Park.
With a handle like “Rain Delay”, I shoulda figured you were from the NW
Ah, you’re going to PGE Park this weekend! Cool-e-o … hope you don’t get too many, uh, rain delay’s … forecast for Fri & Sat is iffy … if you’ve got tix for Sunday, you might get a DH (and, being “old school”, that means “double header”, not “designated hitter”
) …
So, as they say in Molalla … giddy up! (they say that there, don’t they?)
I just got an email from lulu saying my book has ship’d … the suspense would be killing me if I hadn’t also bought a download version and done some sneek-peak-ing
LM – Yeah I’ve been keeping my eye on the forecast, Saturday it’s supposed to rain all day. So Sunday is the day we plan to go, I’m praying it doesn’t rain on Sunday, I’m really jonesing for some baseball.
I think they say giddy up, but I try to stay away from the rodeo grounds.
Morning from Peoria, boys. Thought I would throw out today’s lineup in case anyone was interested. — Corey
http://coreybrock.mlblogs.com/coreybrock/
OT – anyone else catch the red sox at the white house? pretty funny stuff.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/02/27/bush_roasts_toasts_champions/
RE”15 so you know if 1090 is broadcasting it?