Polysics @ the Black Cat in D.C. just a few hours ago

DAMN! The best band on the freaking planet!! Couple of pix:

Couple of SPLORK! Videos

from the WRIR 97.3 Maskquerade party at New York Deli 10/24 as part of the Fund Drive kick off!

Lipstick on a Pig
Lipstick on a Pig


Covering L7's "Shove"
Splork! plays L7's "Shove"

Fun and awesome!

Hey, how about you come by?

Hey, if you're not doing anything Friday night, why not this:

My band SPLORK!!! as well as (Pretend) Pretenders will be playing, and there will also be DJs spinning and general wackiness. It'll be a blast and masks are required! Proceeds go to WRIR 97.3 as the fundraiser gets underway.

And speaking of...

How about supporting the local independent radio station WRIR 97.3 starting this Wednesday? WRIR is a non-profit organization and needs funds in order to bring quality independent news and music to Richmond's airwaves. Plus I do volunteer work there! My show, which is Friday 6AM – 8AM (Breakfast Blend), feel free to call then or that morning! Here are some phone numbers: 804-622-9747 OR 649-9737 (studio #).

DONATE!!!


Listening: BIPPP French Synth Wave 1979 - 1985.


Reading : H.P. Lovecraft

Busy busy busy!

So Ceci & I are doing the Songs from the Big Hair (80s show) on WRIR 97.3 today, we're making it the sweet n sour edition, with Ceci doing the sugarpop and me doing the angry punk hardcore. Should be interesting. Here's a great album cover from that era:



So, the to do list:

Prep songs for big hair
Go to Plan 9
Go to Guitar Works, get guitar strings
Go to the Festival of India for lunch and browse
Songs from the Big Hair
Band practice

Whew!

The Poet who beat the Twin Towers

So yesterday, when we bailed on going to the National Book Festival in D.C., we thought of many things to do instead; weather was the factor. How about a movie? Well, nothing really was out, so how about checking the one of two theaters in town that plays the more obscure stuff. At the Westhampton, we see this:


Man on Wire

This is a film every person effected by 9-11 should see.

Yeah, we have all heard about Phillipe Petit wire walking the Twin Towers in 1974 or seen the story in the back of our minds, but this film symbolically "fixes" things. Any anxiousness at the thought of being one of those people in the World Trade Center that terrible day in September is washed over with this film.

Using a combination of interviews, re-enactments and vintage footage, the film is all about how this young French poet and his crew of pranksters plot to wire walk the WTC. The buildings were barely even finished. As you see footage of it being built from a hole in lower Manhattan, you can't help feel the hole that was LEFT after the attacks. That moment, like so many others with this film, creates this weird paradox in your head. Watching Petit in the film is like watching an ocean wave. His movements, his artistic interpretations of the events that he has probably told time and again lose no impact on the viewer. Here were a bunch of artists planning to get fake IDs, ship equipment clandestinely into the building, visit the towers and case the place time and time again, not to crash planes into the buildings, but something far more creative. To string a two inch thick metal wire atop the two buildings for Petit to walk across!

CREATIVE CRIME RULES.

So here is the thing, despite the bombers killing thousands of people in 2001 and leveling the buildings as an act of symbolism against the west, they weren't the first to "beat" the Towers.

Petit had done it decades earlier.

Symbolically speaking, here were these huge intrusive buildings, representing the tallest, biggest things on the earth, the apex of modern man being reduced by a balancing performer, this "poet" of the wire who merely danced above it for 45 minutes, laughing with the seagulls and grinning at the police officers waiting to arrest him when he was finished.

Go see this movie. It has a very therapeutic effect. It's funny, intense and has a kind of emotional charge that means more than any religious or patriotic fervor could hope to induce. In a lot of ways it's what we need in this world of hate, murder and despair; artists. Whether it be painters, poets, musicians --it doesn't matter-- because the artist wins every time in the end.

"Celebrating" September 11th

It still makes me sick to my stomach to relive that day. But in a weird way it is good to remember that day. I was horrified, angry, sad, disgusted, so many emotions at once, connected to something, someplace I had no connection to. New York City, the World Trade Center, the Middle East, Terrorism, was just a distant place/thing/idea to me. When the shit hit the fan, it became an epiphany, a realization that the U.S. policies and attitude is not exactly loved by everyone in the world. Our modern days of "splendid isolationism", perhaps still in the back of our collective American minds riding on the coattails of saving Europe from Hitler so long ago, were over. You can only ride so long as a superpower.

That whole day I had the urge to go get my kid out of school and just go home and wait for the other shoe to drop. I felt sorrow for the victims and their families. The horror of the "jumpers" - ones that made the desperate decision to fall to their death rather than burn to death- imagining having to make that decision for myself if it were me. *stomach churns* I imagined what people in other countries that have to worry about car bombs daily have to go through every time they see their kid try to get to school. Subways, commuter trains, buses. We are living like the rest of the world now, but with a bigger target on our backs.

Then anger. Find those fuckers that did this. GET THEM.

And then the President W happened.

More anger as we blindly followed the Piper to Iraq, I saw it happening, everyone did. The deception, the lies, the feeding of our residual anger and blood-thirsty craving for justice to be done. We just let it happen.

Then he was reelected.

Shame, embarrassed to have a President like this. Even more embarrassed for our nation of fools that kept him in office. More anger, despair; this is our country?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?

So, 7 years later...
Here are the murderers:


Here are the victims:


This is what is effected by our actions since:

Global economy, global consequences. Where are we today? The memories of those people that perished that day haunt our American psyche, even though we still shop, buy, continue to be distracted with our daily lives. Think about it, think about that day, then think if our policies have changed in the world for the better? I know, all those things are still things we have no connection to. It's just a distant place/thing/idea to us. Kind of like New York City, the World Trade Center, the Middle East, Terrorism, everywhere. Business as usual. Everything but for the here and now.

Last day of The Braves

Sad, but true. 42 years. Last year they won the Governor's Cup. We had good seats and a good time, they won 9 to 3 against Norfolk Tides! Cool double steal, two over the fence homers, and a packed Diamond with over 12 thousand!
Let's hope we get another team soon.

Listening: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig Lazarus Dig!!!

Reading: Lone Wolf & Cub graphic novel

Mad Libs for blogs

Holy Snapping Duck Do! I just got slapped with a wet salmon - really - I have not updated this since they let me out!... You would not believe that I'd been abducted by aliens. Stupid Global Warming!.

I am flat out like a lizard drinking with discovering time doesn't stand still, learning to speak Japanese, just generally being a slave to anyone unfortunate to cross my path, my day sprawls from the second star on the right, straight on to home. I am hoping one day they will call me 'mummy' again. perchance.

I hope that one day I will update you with my nefarious activities as soon as I get a chance. You wanna test me? Cats if you don't..


(from The Lazy Blogger's Generator) and well, my awesome wife, Lisa, posting one first!

Reading: All She was Worth by Miyabe Miyuki

Listening: A punk girl mix I made!

Watching: Madmen Season 1 Disk 1 from Netflix (we finally joined!) and
Ping Pong. Ping pong, you say? Yes! Here's the trailer!

Radio Days & The Bizarre Market

So yesterday, we had the WRIR 97.3 radio tent at the Bizarre Market on Shields at the Joe's Inn block. This was a dedication to Jonny Z with Art 180, Chop Suey, Books on Wheels and a ton of other people in the mix selling their crafts and things. It turned out to be a great time. Charles Williams (Motherland Influence), Michael Miracle (Lotus Land Show), Melissa (Mercury Falls), Mary Claire (Thursday Breakfast Blend) and myself all took turns DJing in between bands (Gull, Josh Small, Liza Kate, The Antlers, among others) and raffling by Ward. The turnout was swell! What is really great about the Bizarre is that it is kind of like a lot of the other alternative things in Richmond. For the rest of us! There were tattooed pierced freaks, oddballs, THAT guy, and a lot of other people you would call the alternative art scene. Love it. Here are some pics:


BB Thursdays, Lotus Land, Mercury Falls, BB Fridays


Ward the Raffler.


Galaxy Girl & Monkey Dog Studios

So after spending most of the day there, it was time to break down some of the gear and take it back to the station, then get ready for River City Limits with Ceci. Ceci & I make a good pair on the air, cracking jokes, general silliness and we freaking ROCK it too! Good day to be representing the radio station and just plain fun anyway.


Me & Ceci chumming it up.

Listening: Polysics "We Ate the Machine", Beck "Modern Guilt", The Kills "Midnight Boom"
Reading : In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami
Avoiding : Carytown Watermelon Festival

Gull

This is a picture of the band, Gull, playing at River City Limits today. Nate, the only band member, finger slams the guitar while playing the drums AND singing with microphone skull-mask strapped to his face. Very awesome!

More pix:

Welcome to Richmond on the 4th of July

This was my view most of the time while waiting forever for the Braves to lose at the Diamond last night so we could watch some fireworks.
Old ladies butts in capris.

Reading: American Sideshow by Marc Hartzman

Listening: Fullmetal Jackoff by Jello Biafra with D.O.A.

Camping & Death

We went to Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore for 5 days, it was beautiful. We had a bout of rain Sunday night, but the rest of the week was clear, warm without too much humidity, and awesome. Some friends joined us the first few days, where we took the waters, hiked on some crazy ass boardwalk that deadended, visited Chatham Vineyards on the sly from the owner after he saw our frustration at it being closed, and ate heartily from Dave's cooking and the Machipongo's Clam Shack! Good times. Here are a few pictures:




So we come back, after a week of no tv or radio, a good thing, and I just learn tonight that one of my favorite EVER comedians, George Carlin, had died. That makes me sad. I saw him when I was 19 and under the influence in the third row at the Mosque. A GREAT show. He had a cynicism that seemed to get more curmudgeonly as he grew older but was hilarious and I loved ever bit of it. At his passing, news bites called him the edgy comedian, only quoting the 7 Words you can't say on television, but he was more than that. He was the very representation of Anti-Establishment. He questioned EVERYTHING and it didn't matter what side of the fence it was on. He wrote a few great books, had countless hilarious records and was a messenger for us all. Fuck THEM. God damn we'll miss that man. Bye, you great wise-ass kid from New York City.

"And now a word from The National Apple Institute: FUCK PEARS."
"The following statement is true: the preceding statement was false."

Gypsy-Riffic! Review of Gogol Bordello!

Quick pic of the Gogol Bordello show at Toad's Place from last night above, now here's the review:

Ichiban is my friend, especially the double deuce ounce size. Polished it off at the sushi restaurant (the summer of sushi kick has begun) and walked down to Toad’s Place for the show. The line was formed and Pedals on Our Pirate Ship was punkin’ it up outside to entertain the line. A great local perky band, hitting the PBR tallboys between songs. I guess the audience could care less, unfortunately, as the line started moving. Toad’s has some charm even if it feels like it is run by out of towner “professionals”. If you have all your stuff in order, you get to go right through, the bartenders are fast and furious so you don’t even notice the price on a beer. It has good lighting, sound and layout, like a polished Flood Zone of sorts.

Bumped into some friends, P.J. had his camera geared up, and Lauren Vincelli who was to do the RVA Magazine review (and I was "competing" against to get the article, I guess) was still trying to land an interview with the headliner. To say she is an adorning fan is an understatement. She tells us how she has been trying and trying to get some Q&A with GGB but their PR person says that they only want “cover” interviews, meaning they want all the attention for whatever rag you got going or no deal. She tells them that RVA will give them all they can online, on the you tube, etc…I don’t think they were biting though. She next came up with the notion to interview the groupie of GGB who had been following them around. A great idea! Lauren is a dedicated fan and rocks!

Anyway, the opener was Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, a band label unity line-up going on with this show. They immediately got the Dexys Midnight Runners reference from me, dashed in with some Rick Wakeman circa “Journey to the Center of the Earth” keyboard wackiness. Despite their best efforts to keep to the odd rock-folk-soul groove thang going, big ape dudes with crooked hats and Eminem posturing started some sort of ghetto slamming. They were funny and noted by one of the guitarists who gave them a shout out: “This one goes to that guy right there that likes the funny mustaches.” I have no idea what that meant but weird mens room stall imagery came to mind. Shudder. So yeah, okay, the band still rocked it in their own way.

After they finished out their set, it was time to walk around some more, look at the smoking section on the second floor balcony and check out the upstairs. See some people, chat chat chat, back downstairs as the headliner approaches and DAMN this place got crowded!

My friend and I made our way as close as we could without probably getting sucked into a sweaty, B.O. ridden pit. We found a solid place between some other friends and two saucer-eyed blondes and then it happened. Pure Gypsy. Gogol Bordello unleashed it’s mighty gypsy punk sound like it was a rabid pit bull just told to “sic em”. The crowd popped up and down like it was on a boat capsizing and if you’ve ever felt the sound of pure pagan soul, this was it. They flopped around, spun around, rallied the crowd and just plain put on show.

It was a good solid show for nearly 2 hours. Frontman Eugene Hütz had a bottle of wine to glug on and sling around like it was the nectar of the gods when he wasn’t strumming the hell out of his acoustic guitar. The old dude on fiddle, Sergey Ryabtsev, held his own, popping the bow strings by the end of the night. The small dude dressed like Pele, Thomas "Tommy T" Gobena , cranked second percussion and rapped to the crowd with dictator style fervor. Then the two gypsy women came out, one on bass drum, the other flailing cymbals, and it was a call to sonic arms. Man, but did the place hop like a gypsy juke on amphetamines.

Then a bit of weirdness happened, Eugene: “Thank you very much Charlottesville!” What?!? Do you even know what town this is! Ha! Well, what should you expect from a guy who had been sucking on a bottle of red table wine for over an hour, I guess. All was forgiven PDQ as they tore out a 45 minute encore that left audience members euphoric and spent from pogo dancing. There was one moment when a group of sweat soakers plowed through us. A girl was passing out and her friends were trying to get her out of the melee. Unfortunately, her pals were worn out too and they could barely carry her off. They fell into a huddled mess, as slamming situations often dictate (the nature of the beast) and at first I thought the girl was getting ready to blow chunks. My friend James told it looked like she was rather punched in the mouth. Bet she had a good time!

Still, it wasn’t all slaps and exhaustion that night, tons of clapping, hollering and dancing in a circle till the finale, a 15 minute romper of a tune you’d think would never end nor want to brought the whole hopping thing to a close. Damn that was the stuff! Looking at my friend Fontaine's cell phone for the time, I had to get home and to bed, for in a few (very few) short hours I had to do the Breakfast Blend show on WRIR 97.3!! So what’s a good nights sleep lost for the show of the year?

Garoge

Richmond Alley, note the "garoge" indication. Wanna start a band?













Getting ready to read: Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

Listening: Gogol Bordello They are coming to town this Thursday!

Article for RVA MAgazine ONLINE

Check out the Peelander-Z article I did (with PJ Sykes on photo wizardry) for RVA Magazine!

Human Bowling

Peelander-Z and human bowling in a quickie video from a cheap camera!

Peelander-Z!

Again at the Camel. Great show, they are fantastic live, very audience participatory!

Picture:

1100 Miles in 3 Days

We burned up and back to Massachusetts for L.'s 20th College Reunion at Mount Holyoke. Made good time and put some miles on the new car. Had a great time despite our colds from last week's kayak adventure. Stayed in one of the dorms, witnessed the interesting ritual that this women's college has, met some great people and climbed a mountain with a beautiful view.

Our dorm room! Notice the beds pushed together... ;-)


H. & L. on the way to the Library.

Horse Skeleton in the Science Hall!


View from Mt. Holyoke.

Read: In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman, necessary reading for anyone.
Listening: The B-52s Funplex is actually not a bad cd to listen to through New Jersey!

New robot!

Picked this one up this weekend. A HaHa Toy, you got to love that name for a Toy Company. Not a great bot, but cheap! (Yeah, I know, I am a freakin' dork!)

Listening: Marianne Nowottny, I have no idea why. And Qui.

Reading: Finishing up The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi, can't believe that was written in 1948!

On deck: After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Also, reacquired a copy of the fantastic cyberpunk sampler, Storming the Reality Studio having lost my previous one.

New Blog Project

L. & I have a new blog called

"Damned Dirty Apes"

and we're going to share various pictures we take in parks and such of litter to show how filthy we humans are. Maybe it will inspire people to pick up after themselves or tick people off enough to give someone a hard time when they catch someone littering.

Give a hoot, mothersuckers, don't pollute!