Every step13 show is a different story.
--Gerald McArtor, March 2005
--Gerald McArtor, March 2005
News
Thanks for all your crazy support! We love rockin'
with you guys!
step13 will not book any gigs until some life and
work challenges fall into place. Keep watching for
news on the next show.
We Can't Make it Here
James McMurtry
Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore
That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore
The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
The bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore
High school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore
Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their shit don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the damned little war
And we can't make it here anymore
Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
Let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat shit, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore
And that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind
If you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why
In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here anymore
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| Upcoming Shows |
07.09.09
No show at Playmakers this weekend due to
booking error. We'll see you at Our Place on
July 31.
02.20.09
Check out step13's new look--at least a
revisited look by our frontman--at Earl's
Tavern tonight.
11.29.08
Arlan Lammers, former bassist with Bad
Influence and HandKrank, was killed in a car
accident early this morning returning home
from a gig. Our hearts go out to his family in
this time of tragic loss.
11.28.08
More pictures--with some hidden images.
Look for the grey bar to find pictures that are
more than meet the eye.
You can listen to step13's Battle of the Bands
performance here. The red and white arrow
button marks the approximate beginning of
each song.
10.05.08
Long overdue--but there are new images on
the website with more to come. Here are some
shots of the Nebraska Bookstore Battle of the
Bands.
08.27.08
Thanks to everyone who came out for the
Battle of the Bands Sunday afternoon. step13
rocked! YOU rocked!
08.20.08
Sunday, August 24, 1-9:30 pm--See step13
compete in an outdoor Battle of the Bands at
the Nebraska Bookstore. The stage and
booths will be set up at 13th & Q in downtown
Lincoln. We'll play around 4 pm.
The BOTB rules require that we play two
originals and one cover. We're ready to rock
with our own "Heaven" and "All in Vain" and a
new cover--Hog's "Get a Job."
Other bands include Trace the Skyline, Red
Burros, DeParted, Eyes Catch Fire, Pharmacy
Spirits, and more...
See you there!
04.24.08
We apologize for the long delay in updating the
gigs and news. Technical (too many) and time
(not enough) problems have defeated
attempts to keep this current.
For the first time ever, step13 had to cancel a
gig due to illness. When the front man can't
even talk, the show can't go on. We apologize
to the Elworth's Pub crowd for not performing
(February 29 and March 1), but we look
forward to rockin' with you all again soon!
01.03.08
step13 will take off the month of January to
rehearse some new songs. When the
schedule's busy, we like it. But we crave the
opportunity to learn new stuff. We'll rock 2008
in public--beginning February 15!
09.26.07
One of step13's most loyal and definitely
oldest fans, Don Parker, passed away
Wednesday night after a brief illness. We'll
miss his smile and charisma, and we'll remain
jealous of this 83-year-old's ability to attract
the ladies. For more details, see
www.nsdaa.org.
06.14.07
step13 will perform a last minute gig Friday,
June 15, at Our Place in Ashland.
HandKrank had to cancel due to the illness of
bassist Justin's wife. We wish her a speedy
recovery and return home from the hospital.
05.30.07
step13, along with A Moment Lost, Fireside
Innocence, and Trashin the Bird, will open for
The Heavenly States at Knickerbockers. See
Last Call Entertainment for additional details
on this Saturday, June 2 show.
Tickets for the 18+ show are $8. Purchase
tickets in advance from step13.
05.19.07
Thanks to all who rocked with step13 in the
Battle of the Bands. Even though step13
didn't win, the event was great fun. Thanks to
Last Call Entertainment for inviting step13 to
participate.
05.02.07
Spread the news!
step13 will compete in a Four Play Battle of
the Bands at The Alley on Thursday, May 17.
The winner advances to the semi-finals on
May 24 to compete for a chance to open for
Drowning Pool at the Lancaster County Event
Center on June 8.
How can step13 win? Go to the event, invite
lots of friends, and drink a lot! Receive tokens
with each drink purchase and cast them as
votes for your favorite band--step13!
The lineup also includes Dead Mummys, Chronic
Bliss, Aleph Null.
The Alley is located at 1031 M, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Door opens at 7:30, show starts at 8:00.
04.16.07
step13 performed at Shea Riley's on April 12.
Thanks to Emotional Baggage for hosting the
event and to Headstrong and Tired of Sleep
for awesome, rockin' performances. Check
out these great area bands whenever you get
a chance.
We'll post some pics from the event soon.
03.16.07
Oh my God! The bar's on fire! Literally!
We're so sorry to hear that Toady's Pub &
Grub burned last night. The extent of damage
is uncertain at this time, but the bar is closed.
step13 will not perform on St. Patrick's Day.
We wish the Toady's Pub owners and staff the
very best during this tough time.
03.08.07
B.R.M.C. announced their North American
tour today. On the itinerary is a stop at
Omaha's Sokol Underground in Omaha on
May 18.
02.16.07
From B.R.M.C.'s publicist...
The new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club single,
"Weapon Of Choice" and album track, "666
Conducer" are available to listen to on the
official web-site.
Both songs are taken from the new album, "Baby
81", due April 30 UK and Europe on Island Records
and May 1, US and Canada on RCA.
Baby 81 captures Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at
the most crucial time of their career. "I think we all
took a leap of faith a little bit more on this album,
writing more current songs," Robert reveals. "We
used to hold on pretty tight to new songs, but it
kind of feels like people are finally going to hear
where we're at right now - we're much more in the
moment."
01.24.07
Brent Liles, 43, former bassist with Social
Distortion, died in a bicycle accident on
January 18. More details are available on CNN
or punknews.org. You may join other fans in
expressing your condolences on Social
Distortion's MySpace page.
01.21.07
We've added new photos and hidden images.
Hope you enjoy the updated pages. More
photos from recent gigs will appear soon.
01.14.07
Thanks to all who braved the snow and frigid
temps to party on the 13th with step13 at
Toady's Pub in beautiful, downtown Mead!
01.03.07
Everything you always wanted to know about
Rusty--and more--can be found on his bio
page.
Arthur, Connie and Rusty have MySpace
pages. Links are on their bio pages.
12.28.06
Thanks for all your enthusiastic support
during 2006. We love you, and we love
performing for you. Keep on rockin' with
step13 in the new year!
11.25.06
step13 has joined the MySpace community.
Check out the page and become a step13
friend at MySpace.
11.20.06
Great crowd! Awesome energy! See pictures
of the November 18 gig at Toady's Pub &
Grub, Mead, Nebraska.
09.10.06
The JR's Down Under performance for
Saturday, October 14, was booked this week.
Please spread the news so we'll have a big
crowd.
09.27.06
Sean and Danielle, may you live happily ever
after! Thanks for allowing step13 to be a part
of your fairy tale event.
09.05.06
Congratulations to Lisa Weed from North
Hollywood, California, for discovering the
location of Trixie, the Bluetick Hound. Lisa
wins a step13 T-shirt.
To view Trixie, click on the "songs" tab, scroll
down to "Charlie Daniels Band," and click on
the "lyrics illustrated" button.
08.25.06
Ground Zero incorrectly reports that step13
will play at Duggan's Pub tomorrow night
(08.26.06). step13 takes the stage at Duggan's
Pub next Saturday, September 2, after
Nebraska's first football game of the season.
07.29.06
Faithful peruser of step13's website, Rachel
Schmidt, has discovered the photo of the Bluetick
Hound! Since she already has a well-worn step13
T-shirt, she relinquishes her rights to the prize. The
next person who locates the canine cutie's
photograph and emails the name to
webmaster@stepthirteen.com wins a step13
T-shirt.
07.20.06
Friday, July 21, 2006, will go down in history as a
memorable day in the lives of the citizens of
Ashland, Nebraska. The significance of the day will
be intensified for those loyal patrons of Our Place.
Not only will step 13, "the hottest ticket in town,"
perform that evening in the comfort of the
establishment's hallowed walls, but illustrious
aficionado of the bar and the band, John Walters,
will celebrate the anniversary of his marvelous
birth on a sweltering July day many (who's
counting?) years ago.
A hot band. A hot birthday. What more could one
desire? Come one, come all to celebrate the
festivities!