Wednesday, October 31, 2007
All Hallow's Eve
Tonight i'll be DJing (in a club) for the first time in a long while. And as it's Halloween, i'm that much more excited about it...NOT to mention DJ Brad Ashwell is on the bill as well (don't think i've DJed with him in over...wow, i'll just say in a very long time, it was the 90s, just won't mention what part of the 90s it was). Anyway, got my costume together, now I just need to put together some records (don't think the set-up at the Beta Bar is very CD friendly...unfortunately, too much new stuff to mention). I'm sure photos or at least a story or two will need to be posted late tonight or sometime this weekend. Me, DJ Brad Ashwell and someone by the name of DJ Miami...should be interesting.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Final(ly) see "him" live and in person...
So, the excitement of the new Cream Abdul Babar tour had me forget about all that's going on right nearby. Luckily I dj'ed last night, at the radio station, and was reminded of a HUGE show (well for me it's a huge show) at the Club Downunder Saturday night. So, instead of going to Atlanta tomorrow, i'll be headed up to Savannah today right after I get off work. Then after catching CAB at The Jinx I'll head back Saturday morning so that I can see JESU right here in TALLAHASSEE! For those of you not in the know, this is one of Justin K. Broadrick's many projects. Broadrick is the man that HEAVILY influenced my musical tastes back in the late 80s into the early...well, to really think about it he's always influenced me in some way since I got into "underground" music...anyway, his band GODFLESH was a big deal for me. TWICE I was to see GODFLESH when canceled tours (or cut short tours) kept me from seeing them live before they disbanded. Well, he's back in the states and this time with Jesu...I'll be there this time...right in my own backyard.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Off to Atlanta...
So weekend before last I made my way up to Atlanta on my own. The purpose of the trip: to finally witness TURBONEGRO live and in person.
Drove straight into Atlanta's "Little 5 Points" for the usual afternoon of shopping at Criminal Records, Wax n Facts and A Cappella Books. You'd think by now i'd have branched out a bit and found other stores to visit.
Well, time was an issue since I didn't arrive till close to 4:30p. But i've never been a huge fan of clothes shopping and a lot of the other stores (including Junkman's Daughter) have always seemed a bit on the "trendy" side for me. Anyway, picked up a handful of records both at Criminal and Wax n Facts (including a Yello vinyl tribute with Cosmic Baby on it) and only one book from A Cappella (Brad Warner's "Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye").
From here I met up with Tradd and his man John at Eats. Eats will likely become a regular stop for me when visiting ATL. Good, southern cooking and the jerk chicken is amazing. Tradd brought along some drinks in case we didn't have time to go back to his place...which we didn't.
Went straight to Center Stage to get tickets for fear of it selling out. Didn't need to have that fear though there were a lot of people at the show. This venue is great for live concerts. They have a really good soundsystem and there isn't a bad seat in the house (set up like an old opera house with steep seating). Ian Mott ended up making his way up to see the show (lil' shit did it last minute so I still rode to and from ATL by myself). Also ended up meeting Andy and Kellie LePlegua.
So according to most listings Tradd and I found there was supposed to be two opening bands: Year Long Disaster and Mondo Generator. Well, there was no Year Long Disaster. Not a problem for me, I had only just heard about them because of this show and while they play some good, old fashioned metal, I didn't HAVE to see them. So, that leaves us with one opener, Mondo Generator. Really was looking forward to them since missing them opening for the Dwarves last year (or was it the year before?).
Fronted by former Dwarves bassist (known as Rex Everything) Nick Oliveri has seemingly pushed this band into "Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator" territory...which i'm not a fan of. Regardless, I was still pretty excited to see them live, some of their stoner rock stuff ain't so bad in my opine...but some of it ain't so good either...and it seems it was the later that filled much of their set. Nothing grabbed me, no great hooks, which made me kind sad...Forgot to mention, Nick was also a member of Kyuss, way back in the day.
So, enjoyed them somewhat, but definitely not what I was hoping for...between sets Tradd and Brent (from Mastodon) introduced me to one of the guys that was in Four Hour Fogger...and of course i've forgotten his name. (No biggie, Tradd couldn't remember it 5 minutes later either.) The break seemed long but that might have been the drinks, we had time for at least two, maybe three, rounds. The oddest part was realizing just how many Turbojugend there were in Atlanta (or visiting from parts unknown but wearing the "uniform").
Then it was time for the main act... TURBONEGRO!
It may have been a little crowded but I was able to make my way to the stage pretty easily. The floor area was only about 1/2 to 2/3 full of people. A couple small pits got started, but mostly by folks too drunk too really know what they were doing. The bulk of us jumped and sang along with every song...well, most of 'em.
I figured out early on that I was going to have to try and grab one of the playlists or at the very list snap a shot of one of them...just to have a decent document of proof of what they played. After singing along to two or three I got that feeling, "this is great...but how much will I remember." No, I wasn't completely "tanked" but you know that fuzzy/hazy feeling you can get.
Anyway, after the first or second song that I didn't recognize right away I started getting that feeling. The first couple were from the new album, Retox, knew those rather well. The band seemed pretty on, even though Hank seemed to have some problems with his "ear monitor."
With the number of albums and e.p.s they have as well as the relatively new "Small Feces" collections, I'm not sure how they could come up with a playlist that covered it all. I was a little disappointed that nothing was played of off Never is Forever, one of their first I owned, so it's still a favorite. But I loved that they did "City of Satan" and followed it with "Bad Mongo." And though it was my first and only time seeing them, it all rocked me quite right...especially ending the first set with "All My Friends Are Dead!" They had two encores, the last one being "I Got Erection" and then Nick O. came out for the finale of "Final Warning." Truly a great show by a band i've only been into for a short amount of time.
So the show ends and I see they aren't going to do anything (at least not immediately) with their playlists which are taped to the stage. I jump up to grab the one that Happy Tom used. As I start to rip up the tape Happy Tom comes over and jokingly lifts his boot as if he's going to stomp on me. I freeze with hands up as if, "who me, i'm innocent." I then point out my St. Pauli t-shirt and he laughs and points to it telling me "go ahead." I wanted to shake his hand in thanks but he was headed into the crowd before I got the chance.
After the show, Tradd and I slowly made our way out, just makin' sure nothing crazy exciting was going to happen before we left. On our way home we passed by the Clairmont...I had to stop in. A bit surprised by the cover...it's been so long I don't remember it being so much but by that time...it didn't really matter. We stayed a while, had a few more drinks, almost got in trouble with one of the bouncers in a silly kinda way, danced a lot to old Michael Jackson and few other 70s and 80s tunes, then made our way home.
Tradd and John have a nice pad, which I didn't totally get to figure out till the next morning. I was given shower supplies but passed out before making it to the bathroom. Did browse threw one of Tradd's old yearbooks, that's always fun. His breakfast "shake" of health stuff was pretty good...but compared to what I had been putting in my belly the night before it was most appreciated by my insides.
The drive home was nothing to write home about. Listened to some good tunes, chatted with DJ a few times and once I got home I pretty much passed out from exhaustion.
Drove straight into Atlanta's "Little 5 Points" for the usual afternoon of shopping at Criminal Records, Wax n Facts and A Cappella Books. You'd think by now i'd have branched out a bit and found other stores to visit.
Well, time was an issue since I didn't arrive till close to 4:30p. But i've never been a huge fan of clothes shopping and a lot of the other stores (including Junkman's Daughter) have always seemed a bit on the "trendy" side for me. Anyway, picked up a handful of records both at Criminal and Wax n Facts (including a Yello vinyl tribute with Cosmic Baby on it) and only one book from A Cappella (Brad Warner's "Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye").From here I met up with Tradd and his man John at Eats. Eats will likely become a regular stop for me when visiting ATL. Good, southern cooking and the jerk chicken is amazing. Tradd brought along some drinks in case we didn't have time to go back to his place...which we didn't.
Went straight to Center Stage to get tickets for fear of it selling out. Didn't need to have that fear though there were a lot of people at the show. This venue is great for live concerts. They have a really good soundsystem and there isn't a bad seat in the house (set up like an old opera house with steep seating). Ian Mott ended up making his way up to see the show (lil' shit did it last minute so I still rode to and from ATL by myself). Also ended up meeting Andy and Kellie LePlegua.
So according to most listings Tradd and I found there was supposed to be two opening bands: Year Long Disaster and Mondo Generator. Well, there was no Year Long Disaster. Not a problem for me, I had only just heard about them because of this show and while they play some good, old fashioned metal, I didn't HAVE to see them. So, that leaves us with one opener, Mondo Generator. Really was looking forward to them since missing them opening for the Dwarves last year (or was it the year before?).
Fronted by former Dwarves bassist (known as Rex Everything) Nick Oliveri has seemingly pushed this band into "Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator" territory...which i'm not a fan of. Regardless, I was still pretty excited to see them live, some of their stoner rock stuff ain't so bad in my opine...but some of it ain't so good either...and it seems it was the later that filled much of their set. Nothing grabbed me, no great hooks, which made me kind sad...Forgot to mention, Nick was also a member of Kyuss, way back in the day.
So, enjoyed them somewhat, but definitely not what I was hoping for...between sets Tradd and Brent (from Mastodon) introduced me to one of the guys that was in Four Hour Fogger...and of course i've forgotten his name. (No biggie, Tradd couldn't remember it 5 minutes later either.) The break seemed long but that might have been the drinks, we had time for at least two, maybe three, rounds. The oddest part was realizing just how many Turbojugend there were in Atlanta (or visiting from parts unknown but wearing the "uniform").
Then it was time for the main act... TURBONEGRO!It may have been a little crowded but I was able to make my way to the stage pretty easily. The floor area was only about 1/2 to 2/3 full of people. A couple small pits got started, but mostly by folks too drunk too really know what they were doing. The bulk of us jumped and sang along with every song...well, most of 'em.
I figured out early on that I was going to have to try and grab one of the playlists or at the very list snap a shot of one of them...just to have a decent document of proof of what they played. After singing along to two or three I got that feeling, "this is great...but how much will I remember." No, I wasn't completely "tanked" but you know that fuzzy/hazy feeling you can get.
Anyway, after the first or second song that I didn't recognize right away I started getting that feeling. The first couple were from the new album, Retox, knew those rather well. The band seemed pretty on, even though Hank seemed to have some problems with his "ear monitor."With the number of albums and e.p.s they have as well as the relatively new "Small Feces" collections, I'm not sure how they could come up with a playlist that covered it all. I was a little disappointed that nothing was played of off Never is Forever, one of their first I owned, so it's still a favorite. But I loved that they did "City of Satan" and followed it with "Bad Mongo." And though it was my first and only time seeing them, it all rocked me quite right...especially ending the first set with "All My Friends Are Dead!" They had two encores, the last one being "I Got Erection" and then Nick O. came out for the finale of "Final Warning." Truly a great show by a band i've only been into for a short amount of time.
So the show ends and I see they aren't going to do anything (at least not immediately) with their playlists which are taped to the stage. I jump up to grab the one that Happy Tom used. As I start to rip up the tape Happy Tom comes over and jokingly lifts his boot as if he's going to stomp on me. I freeze with hands up as if, "who me, i'm innocent." I then point out my St. Pauli t-shirt and he laughs and points to it telling me "go ahead." I wanted to shake his hand in thanks but he was headed into the crowd before I got the chance.
After the show, Tradd and I slowly made our way out, just makin' sure nothing crazy exciting was going to happen before we left. On our way home we passed by the Clairmont...I had to stop in. A bit surprised by the cover...it's been so long I don't remember it being so much but by that time...it didn't really matter. We stayed a while, had a few more drinks, almost got in trouble with one of the bouncers in a silly kinda way, danced a lot to old Michael Jackson and few other 70s and 80s tunes, then made our way home.Tradd and John have a nice pad, which I didn't totally get to figure out till the next morning. I was given shower supplies but passed out before making it to the bathroom. Did browse threw one of Tradd's old yearbooks, that's always fun. His breakfast "shake" of health stuff was pretty good...but compared to what I had been putting in my belly the night before it was most appreciated by my insides.
The drive home was nothing to write home about. Listened to some good tunes, chatted with DJ a few times and once I got home I pretty much passed out from exhaustion.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Ah, the sweet, sweet livin'...
A friend of mine, Gina DePalma, has finally had her first book published. If any of you are cooking/baking fans, please consider buying this book. It's called "Dolce Italiano" and it's filled with loads of Italian desserts and pastries. She's the head pastry chef for one of Mario Batali's restaurants, Babbo, in New York City and she did the pastry treats at my wedding (yes, i'm bragging, but also saying that as a reminder to those who were there). Anyway, I know about the sweat and tears that went into this thing and I really hope it does well. She sent me a pic of it in the window of her favorite New York bookstore, sitting next to books by Alan Greenspan, David Halberstam and Peter Cameron. It includes recipes from three different styles of desserts: "traditional Italian, Italian-American and American-Italian" ... I'd get into it more, but it's better explained on the Amazon page...just make with the clicky on the picture if you are even somewhat interested. My copy's on its way, or I'd tell you more about what's inside...just click...and buy. :)
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