random run-in

A friend of mine was in town last week to celebrate his birthday. He had left LA for a few years now so it was also a reunion/gathering of sorts. The event went down at the pirate bar Downtown (The Redwood) so that was an added bonus since I'd been meaning to check it out. I had heard so much about it and had envisioned it to be this setting where I walk in and there is some enclosed body of water and I have to walk up a plank to get to the actual pirate boat bar! Alas, it was nothing like what I had dreamed it would be but it was fun nonetheless. Still, I think my idea is pretty sweet.

The birthday boy is a manager and I had known he managed an acapella group but never knew much about it. Night goes on and I meet the different members of the group (George and Paul mainly) and I kept hearing about a Phil and a Sam. Heard they were on Scrubs but still didn't think much of it. They were going to sing Happy Birthday acapella so I was excited. "Phil is on his way but Sam is here". I look over and see Sam at the bar and the guys call him over so that I could meet him. Turns out Sam is "Ted" from Scrubs! I watch Scrubs but not enough to be super familiar with the ins and outs but I knew who Ted was and it all made sense. The Acapella group is that same one on the show! "Ted's Band" (or The Blanks in real life). So weird but so cool!

(The Blanks serenade Sloaty-pie)

(Paul, Sam, and I)

(Adam Sloat and I)

Happy HAARP Day

Mmmmm Muse. I went to the MUSE DVD screening @ the Vista last night. I don't think I've ever been to a DVD viewing party before so it was cool to watch it at one of my favourite theaters in LA. And I've never seen MUSE live (ugh....I know, I know, lay off me!) so this was kind of like it? Ok, who am I fooling. It's a totally different experience and who am I to even compare concert footage to the actual LIVE experience! But it was still fun...I'm just sayin' in all! Now, if they had made it some sort of IMAX experience, THAT my friends, would've be quite a sight to see. At least the sound quality wasn't shitty and our seats and sodas were vibrating nonetheless.

Great show from as much as I sat through. The production was insane! I mean, once you see them rising from the walkway a mile away from the actual stage you know right then and there that this ain't gonna be a silly nanny concert! And I'm not gonna lie, the band looked scrumptious. Seriously, rockstar status can make any scrawny boy look yummy! And it isn't just me who thinks Chris resembles a hybrid of Jeremy Piven and Chris Joannou of silverchair, right? Absolute hybrid! (In the footage, at least)

Final thoughts? I am always amazed at how much power rockers have over throngs of people. You see those kids in the front rows just belting the lyrics out after standing in those pits for hours. True dedication.

And part of me thought the screening was some April Fool's joke where they make you sit in a theater with a handful of meat heads being obnoxious for the whole hour before the lights go out...like some episode of the Twilight Zone where you have to endure these guys who just won't...shut...the...fuck....up! Just absolute meatheady fratty mcfratterson brobrahs surrounding us from every corner of the small theater...closing in on us...for what seemed like an eternity!

Other than that, fun times all around. We bobbed our heads. We stamped our feet. We clapped and sang along. Part of me wanted to get up and start jumping around like I was one of those kids sweating up against all the bodies around me, just rockin' out.

Yeah, I need to go to a show again soon...or just be in the mood to go out dancing one night.

Music Musings

My boss wrote an entry in his blog about the state of the Music Industry in response to Seth Godin’s address to said industry. It got me thinking about the “good ol’ days, too, when I (and perhaps many like me) was excited about music. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and can’t live without it but I do remember a time when I was truly excited in this whole different way. It was this sincere love and passion that was...I dunno...compared to digging your hands into the soil. It was when music was something you can possess but in a tangible sense.

Remember New Music Tuesdays? When was the last time we were all truly excited and anticipated Tuesdays? I remember when I was a kid and I would scope out Rolling Stone and other music mags alike, when the radio was always on and I’d feverishly call radio stations to play the songs I loved and befriend DJs because they ruled the airwaves, they played the soundtracks of my life! It was a time when I religiously watched MTV (when music actually reigned that network) and other music channels. Remember “The Box”? You know, the channel where you call in and request a music video and you wait for it to come on? I’d watch the bottom right of the tv screen and would squeal when I saw the code of my favourite artist. My VCR was ready to record the video so that I could watch it over and over again. This was before the internet, before YouTube where I can watch any music video with a click of a button. Tuesdays would be days I’d beg my mother to drive me to Tower Records or the Wherehouse. Sometimes I would even march block after block to these stores and raid the new music racks. All my allowance money was spent on new tunes! Man, those were the days!

I guess times have changed. Ok, I don’t “guess”. Times have changed. These stores that supplied me with my weekly fix are pretty much defunct. We get our music at electronic stores, Target, and online. Most of the time we don’t even BUY our music – we download them before actual release dates or have our friends burn them. Hell, I work with the music industry and reap the benefits of promo cds or I can just ask someone because we all know someone who is in the band or knows the band, etc. etc. And we get our music that way. We work for people who want the public to buy their products but we don’t want to support the cause. Is it because we don’t have to? We’re in the system so why pay? But new music is pricey, too. (We all know what spiel). It's all about "instant". That excitement and anticipation is out the window. Many of us don't even set foot in record stores. Just click on over to Amazon and your cd will be at your door in a few days. Want your tunes sooner? Hit up iTunes and you'll get your music within seconds! And this music isn't even tangible! Everything is digital. The only thing tangible is the actual player.

When was the last time I purchased a CD? Just today I looked in my mailbox when I got home and found a CD from an acquaintance in the band Loverlee. Justin sent me a cd and I didn't want to get it for free because I wanted to support the band so I paid for shipping. But I should've just paid for the whole CD if I wanted to support the band...

Funny how I will spend all my measly allowance on CDs every week but now, with a steady paying job, I won't even pay for a CD. Ahhhh!

The new Mates of State album drops in May. May 20th, if I remember correctly. And I am fuckin' excited! I rarely get excited for New Music Tuesday but here I am circling the date in my calendar. Big fat red circle! Why am I compelled to purchase their album and not other music that is out in stores now? Because I've been in love with them for years!
But I've loved the band silverchair sine HS and when their latest album came out....I don't think I even actually bought it! I think I got my hand on the mp3s somehow and the rest is history.

But yeah, MOS makes my heart smile. However, I do feel this connection to them. I know they aren't on a major label and I know they gave up alot to live out their dream to make music. They are the cutest couple! I follow Kori's blog on Babble.com . I was happy for them when I heard they were pregnant with Magnolia. I was happy for them when I found out about the birth of their second daughter, June. I know about their hardships. I know I want to purchase their cds and all the merchandise I can to help pay for their mortgage, their travel expenses, their baby's food, their cat -- everything! I PAY for my concert tickets instead of call in a favour. I want to give them my money!

Maybe that is what we need. We want to feed connected. We don't want fluff. Bands don't need to jump through hoops for us.

It was interesting today as a few of us were driving back from lunch, Jillian (Taking Back Sunday's manager) was talking about the music industry, how festivals here need to be a certain way, how there isn't enough money to do this or that, how times are scary but she wants to really help make sure things remain interesting and fresh for her clients and for the fans. Times are a'changin' and she wonders how the upcoming TBS album will do in this post-emo state in music. She's up for the battle.

People do want to help change the system but it's tough. If a band doesn't reap what they should, the people who helped back them jump ship. No time to fix things. No time to be creative. Need to make money. Need to keep our jobs.

Is it like some accident or incident of some kind where you drive/pass by and see something wrong and you know you should stop and help but you can't because you have yourself to think about? Can't risk getting involved?

I don't know...

ebe

The darlings from Everybody Else finally released their video for "Meat Market". Everytime I hear this song I always want to walk into a room just like they do here. Now if only I could snap my fingers properly. I could always just fake it.

"No One"

My friend, Brian Lerner, has been filming Jarrod from The Honorary Title, and this is the latest gem from the vault: Jarrod covering Alicia Keys' "No One". Swoon fest, for sure.



And while you're at it follow the band's tour blog on Fuse. They are too funny.

i think i'm turning japanese

Meet Nirf. I did at a Big City Rock/Everybody Else show @ the Roxy. One doesn't normally see a Japanese posse at one of these shows so naturally I felt compelled to have them in my life! Plus, I had some down time. C'mon, JAPANESE PUNK POSSE. I'm part cat so curiosity is in my blood!

I've hung out with them a handful of times and they are pretty redic. (Spending time with them is always an adventure. I LOVE FOREIGNERS!). What's even better is that they don't speak English very well. Sometimes I wonder how we understand each other. Alot of pantomiming, pens + paper, and patience. I've even kept the scraps of paper and bar napkins we've written on because it looks like a war map! Pictures of butterflies and phonetic spelling. I love it! Seriously, the napkins can be found on my fridge. Mementos of random evenings. And I love how they are up for anything! They have this innocent excitement! Like, we'll be at a bar and a song we all know comes on the jukebox and while I may start off hesitant they are totally belting the lyrics as best they can and dancing around. They are just totally excited and happy to be in this city. (They cried when they played @ the whiskey this past weekend).

You know what I also love? Their obsession with Nirvana and Foo Fighters (hence "NIRF"). That is what I love about music. We all may have a hard time trying to understand what the other is trying to say but music becomes this common denominator. That and good drinks.

(Look! It's my friend, Albie, and I dancin' in the front row from a few months ago. I didn't know this existed.)

They are playing in Little Tokyo this Friday at Judo Chop. It should be pretty wild and they are fun live. I'm still not sure if they're singing in English or Japanese and quite frankly I don't care. I mimic sounds just as fine. "Wahhhh wahhh wahhh wahh" just like when you're singing along to the radio and don't know the lyrics.

Little Tokyo will also mean hanging out at one of my favourite divey bars and 25cent karaoke (or is it $1? All i know is, there's always alot of quarters involved).