The big shows really did go down on September 12th & 13th, 2003. Thousands of Black Flag fans came out in all their punk rock glory to see it and the stories are already streaming in. For a change, I'm updating the site in a timely manner to post a section that shares your opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings of the shows so that the people who weren't able to go can get some kind of sense of how it went down. That and I'm also curious how other people felt about the whole thing. So far, the responses are anything but dull!

Now it's your turn! I want to hear any stories or opinions from the reunion shows! Also, if anyone has pictures or video, please let me know. I'll post my own thoughts later, but I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU NOW!

Just to let you know, I kept track of the songs and should be posting a complete setlist very shortly. I also have some film that's going to be developed and hopefully a few good shots will result. Keep checking back!

Oh, apologies to all of the people who actually wanted to meet me at the show... all three of you. I had no idea of the layout of the venue and no idea how to coordinate the whole thing.

If you heard the Rise Above compilation or saw Rollins Band this summer and you're interested in reading more about the West Memphis Three, this book was recommended to me at the show by a girl whose name I've forgotten. It gets into the details of the case in a straightforward manner and lays pretty much all of it out. As always, see if you can get it at your local indie bookstore!

Oh, just to let you know, I have NO idea what's up with the counter. At one point it listed over 30,000 visitors. Then it dropped down to nothing. Currently it's over 54,000 (again) but I'm sure it'll blow up again. Even though it's been insanely busy lately, we generally get about 50-100 hits a day. Figure that over 6 years if you want to get an estimate. Oh joy...

www.officialcirclejerks.com is the official site for the Circle Jerks. The word is someone stole their original URL from them at renewal and tried to sell it back to them. I guess they hadn't heard cyber-squatting went out of fashion with bola neck ties and alligator skin Pez dispensers. Back to the Jerks, the tour in July apparently went well (but I couldn't make any of the dates, damn it!). Check the site out for some great interviews with the boys.

I know I offered to help direct those of you who wanted to contribute: now I've got a link that might be of some use. Try sending e-mail here to see about helping Keith out!

Not only was Henry Rollins in Dogtown and Z-Boys, he was also in Jackass: the Movie! He takes part in "Off-Road Tattoo" where he drives a Hummer over rough terrain as Steve-O gets a tattoo. The background music? Black Flag's Drinking and Driving. Yes, I know... Jackass is far too mundane for your highbrow tastes (otherwise you wouldn't be here...) Honestly, I thought the show Jackass was retarded, insane, inane, pathetic crap. And it is. But it's still one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Watch it with a crowd and you'll see. Would I lie to you... sugar?

Rollins was also in Bad Boys II playing a DEA Agent in Charge. He talked about this experience on his last spoken tour... interesting stuff. He's also going to be the voice lead in a new video game called Mace Griffin. Does he ever stop?

Due to a few repeated questions over the years, I'm thinking of coming up with a FAQ for Black Flag. It's kinda redundant considering how much info is already on the site, but there are some things that don't fit into easy categories.

At the risk of cheating slightly, feel free to ask some questions with some relevance to the band. Please, no questions about favorite foods or with whom they would want to be stranded on a deserted island.

It appears as though Screw Radio has gone forward into the past. It's not clear whether Ginn wanted to focus on other things or if they were forced off the air, but they're gone regardless. Sorry to all who missed it.

A Note About The Content: Like I said above, I really do appreciate everyone checking out the site... that's why it's there: for all of you! But one thing that's bothered me a bit is how much of my content ends up on other people's sites. The original Black Flag logo I designed using Paint Shop Pro clear back in autumn of 1996 has finally been retired because I've seen it now on at least 3 other sites as their main banner (believe it or not, even SST used it when they first put up a Black Flag page in 1999!) A lot of the images I scanned and edited have shown up on other sites as well. That doesn't bother me much as I acquired those by scanning published books and such; however, I also try to give credit by telling people to pick up a copy of Get In The Van or Hardcore California. I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

The biggest offense I've taken thus far, however, is with 2.13.61. Before their recent website overhaul, they lifted absolutely everything from my own history that's been up since 1997! Sure, most of the pictures were from Rollins book, but they took every single scan from my site and put them up unedited. What was most offensive is that my text was posted both unedited and uncredited. While I was flattered that my text graced their site, I was also somewhat offended since they never asked (or even notified) me, nor was I credited in any way. I sent them a polite e-mail regarding this in summer 2001, but I never received a response. Though the site has since been removed, it existed between at least 18 August, 2000 and July 20, 2001. Feel free to check it out at The Internet Archive!

Do I blame Rollins? No. He pays people to design his site for him. I blame the website designers for cheating Henry out of some money he paid to them to design a page and then stole content from me. Do I feel cheated? Only in that I wasn't given credit. I never asked for money, just the credit. I also know of a ton of people out there who provide pictures and such and never ask a dime... just the credit for doing the work. With this in mind, I'd just like to request that people do the right thing and give the artist or technician the credit they deserve in creating something. It's not asking too much.

Note: Another guy who's upset me a wee bit is this guy. He's just regurgitated a large portion of my site (hastily rewritten, but all the info is reiterated) and flat out stolen most of my pictures and custom graphics. And not one link or mention to me despite this little rant put up a year ago! Not to mention that his e-mail address didn't work when I tried to e-mail him about it.

Yet another one has taken my histories of both Black Flag and Henry Rollins word for word and posted them. Thanks, bud!

Thanks for hearing my piece. I'm stepping off the soap box so you can go on about your day. Enjoy!