Souse Party

Grace Slick did it. So did Janis Joplin and Courtney Love. Shane MacGowan was notorious for doing it, as was David Yow. What's this rocker roll call we're assembling? It's a tally of musicians from the pantheon of pop-culture history who've gotten shitfaced onstage.

Admittedly, we've got our work cut out for us, seeing as how rotgut and rock 'n' roll go together like distortion and Jack White. The next dozen entries on the list are gonna be cake after this weekend's Shotfest, in which four local bands -- The Minibosses (pictured), The Necronauts, Vin-Fiz, and Fred Green -- will quaff shots during their sets as "an excuse for some idiots to get drunk and play music and hopefully make a lot of boo-boos in the process."

To wit: Members of each group will down their firewater before each of the first three songs of their respective 45-minute gigs. Prior to the fourth number, however, every musician except the one who's fucked up the most goes again, with one final shot before the last song.

'Bosses bassist Ben Baraldi says the event is part train wreck and part competition to see who can maintain while muddled. The 28-year-old's certain he'll be the only remaining member of the Nintendo cover band left standing. "I'm fucking drinking everyone under the table," he says. "Based on experience, they're gonna be destroyed. It's not just how well you can hold your liquor, but how autopilot you can play the songs."

Baraldi will be making sure his bandmates won't pussy out by knocking back drams of peach schnapps while he's guzzling Jägermeister (his particular poison for the night). "If someone picks something too girlie, we'll probably make fun of them a lot," he says.

Ever the responsible rocker, Baraldi tells New Times to make it known that plenty of taxis will be available after the show for those too drunk to drive.

Of course we will, Ben. After all, how else are you gonna get your equipment home?