Like Manny Ramirez in the spring of 2008, I’m back. I’m amped, I’m juiced, I’m ready to come out swinging. But I might take a few plays off.

Since my last post (holy shit was that over a year ago?) a lot has happened. If you’re wondering (from the last post), I did vote for Barack Obama. I didn’t hate McCain, but Palin scared the shit out of me. Regardless of politics, I decided that what this country needed more than anything was a President that was uplifting and inspirational…that and he understand the words that his speechwriters give him to say.

So what has happened in that year? Obama was elected, and inaugurated. The Lakers won their 15th world championship, 8th since I’ve been alive. The Dodgers almost made the World Series. TWICE! I met some great people, and said goodbye to some not so great people. Oh yeah – and I got married to the most amazing woman in the world.

That was the big thing – that was thing that kept me from posting on here for so long. Planning a wedding is insanely stressful, even if it’s your job to say “yes dear” or “whatever you like dear” and fold boxes all night – it’s exhausting. But our wedding went off without any problems – aside from me falling down the stairs from the stage, and a bat flying into the room. But what can you do? The wedding was followed up by an amazing honeymoon in the most romantic city in the world – Paris.

And now I’m back with seemingly endless extra time on my hands. Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

Besides the obvious. I mean, yes, the little meter on my Facebook page says that I’m “Very Liberal.” And I do fall smack in the middle of his target demographic: a twenty-something college-educated urbanite with interests in the arts, media, and culture. I’ve spent all of my life in overtly liberal cities: Los Angeles, Boulder, and New York.  And yes, there’s the super obvious. He’s not John McCain. He’s not a republican. 

But are any of these reasons good enough to elect somebody to be leader of the free world? To be honest, I’ve been lazy. I haven’t done much research. I don’t know what Obama or McCain stand for. I don’t know much about their voting records or their candidates for Vice President. 

I know it would look great for America’s international relations to have a minority running the country. But is that is a good enough reason? Sure, Obama’s a young, charismatic, accomplished half-black, half-white American. But so is Derek Jeter. Would voting for Obama just because he is black be any more sensible than voting for McCain just because he is white? 

I know Obama’s an advocate for change, hope, and progress. But I don’t even know what that means. These promises are as empty as the sloganeering in an Anti-Flag song or the vapidness of a a Cliche-Guevara t-shirt wearing yuppie drinking at Starbucks. What change? What kind of progress? Isn’t everybody an advocate for hope? All I hear from Obama is what people want to hear. 

This isn’t a slag on Obama, or his supporters. I just hope we’re all paying attention. Unfortunately we live in a country where we’ll never have much more of a choice than two candidates. We’re also unfortunately in a time where anything too extreme (liberal or conservative) runs the risk of throwing things even further out of whack. We’re a generation that has been handed a world that is completely and utterly fucked. A world that truth-be-told may never be repaired. We’re the first generation in a long time where people are afraid to have children because they feel like it wouldn’t be right to bring somebody into a such a chaotic place. 

So, what does Obama stand for? Why should I like him? Just six weeks before the election, I’m putting my time in. I’m doing my research. Let me know why. I’m serious. Leave it in the comments. Start a discussion. I know I should like him. But I’m still not sure why.

Hi Everybody

I’ve been awful at updating this thing, but sometimes things like starting your own business or getting engaged take precedent over a blog that only about 50 people read each day. I have some new stuff coming soon…I’m going to start concentrating on trying to do stuff that’s less news and more opionated. Four things that will be coming soon, in no particular order…

1. Why should I like Barack Obama? You know, besides the obvious, that he’s not John McCain…

2. 8 or 10 things new yorkers say about LA that are just ridiculous. Example… calling LA “image obsessed” and then priding themselves on New York being the fashion capitol of the world. 

3. Why I don’t want the Dodgers to win the World Series. OK, I really do, but you’ll understand when you read. 

4. 5 Bands that manage critical acclaim and indie credibility that probably shouldn’t. The Killers are one of them.

If you’re in LA Labor Day Weekend, I can’t imagine anything better or more fun to do than checking out the F Yeah Fest and LA Scavenger Hunt. Easy enough, just read everything below. Should be amazing. 

fyeahfest

THE LA SCAVENGER HUNT:

Here is a list of a few of the prizes for the winning team of the scavenger hunt. We are serious when we say that this will be the best day of the summer.

    * $500 cash

    * 1hr to play whatever you want on KXLU (88.9fm in Los Angeles) on Friday, September 5th from 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Thank you Matt from KXLU for making this happen. 

    * The opening slot on Mess With Texas 3 + $200 cash to get to Austin to perform. Mess With Texas is a free party that takes place during SXSW. This past year the Breeders, NOFX, Simian Mobile Disco, Lucero and Islands were amongst the bands that played to over 20,000 in attendance. I organize the event with two friends. Your band or a band of your choice (your best friends band) get to play. 

    * 10 new cds every month for an entire year from Finger Prints Music, which is the best record store in Southern California.

    * The largest whiskey bottle known to man. Actually, it’s not the largest but 5 gallons is big and if the winners are underage they will get a keg of crystal clear pepsi or fruit punch.

Here is some information about the scavenger hunt:

The hunt will take place on Sunday, August 31st. It will start at 2pm at the Echo Park Lake and will end at a location in downtown LA at 7:00pm. The hunt is all ages, open to the public and cost $8 per person to participate.

The list for the hunt is made up of 100 items. Each item is worth a certain amount of points. The team with the most points at 7:00pm wins the grand prize. Teams are made up of 2 to 5 people. Each team must have a name. Your team should be like one of the gangs in the movie, the Warriors. Wear matching uniforms (this is not necessary but HIGHLY recommended), face paint, and make sure to scream a lot.

Items & Points:

Here is an example of some of the items that were on the list to the last scavenger hunt.          

    * Everyone on the team gets cornrows and extended fingernails. Must be real cornrows.

    * One Person on the team getting a flat top with their name shaved into the back of their head.

    * Life size cut out of Eazy E.           

    * Gay Porno magazine pre 1987           

    * Photograph of team member kissing a stranger on the lips. 50 extra points if they are a senior citizen.

The Cause:

Forty items on the list are material goods that the Union Rescue Mission is in need of. The Union Rescue Mission houses hundreds of houseless families in downtown Los Angeles and is one of the few missions that works with homeless to get back on their feet. With the last scavenger hunt we were able to donate thousands of dollars of material goods and plan to do the same with this year’s event.

THE SCAVENGER HUNT IS MEANT IS FOR EVERYBODY. WE DON’T CARE IF YOUR 14 OR 40. COME OUT AND HAVE FUN. AND AFTERWARDS THERE ARE VARIOUS AFTER PARTIES TAKING PLACE WITH DAN DEACON, POLVO, TRANS AM, PAINT IT BLACK & MORE. CHECK THE SITE FOR MORE DETAILS. 

F YEAH FEST 5

DAY ONE: SAT., AUGUST 30th

BANDS

NO AGE

NEGATIVE APROACH

GLASS CANDY

MATT AND KIM

TWO GALLANTS

FUCKED UP

LADYHAWK

DAVID VANDERVELDE

JAPANTHER

PAINT IT BLACK

MIKA MIKO

PAST LIVES (EX BLOOD BROTHERS)

MONOTONIX

HIGH PLACES

DAVID DONDERO

ABE VIGODA

THE STRANGE BOYS

CRYSTAL ANTLERS

TRASH TALK

MANNEQUIN MEN

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND

BEST FWENDS

TRIUMPH OF LETHARGY SKINNED ALIVE TO DEATH (MEM. OF MURDER CITY DEVILS)

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

RUMSPRINGA

ANAVAN

PREACHER AND THE KNIFE

BROTHER READE

MICHAEL RUNION

TOD ADRIAN WISENBAKER

SILVERGHOST

WAR TAPES

FRANK FAIRFIELD

GRAHAM FOREST

NODZZZ

60 WATT KID

HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM

DIMITRI COATES FROM BURNING BRIDES

WITCH HATS

+ A FEW MORE

PLUS DJ’S

DUBLAB SOUNDSYSTEM

DENNIS OWENS FROM GOOD FOOT

RUSTY LAZER

COMEDIANS

BOB ODENKIRK

JEFF GARLIN

KYLE KINANE

JONAH RAY

MATT BRAUGNER

JOSH FADEM

MATT BESSER

+ MANY MORE TBA.

+ Taco Eating Contest.

+ Kissing booth featuring Damian “Sexual Chocolate” Edwards from Crystal Antlers

+ Dance Off.

+ Juggalo face paint

+ so much more

Wear a Halloween costumes. It’s summer. Life rules.

At the Echo, EchoPlex, Rec Center + 1 more location.

Doors will be 3:00pm & tickets are $18. The fest is all ages.

www.myspace.com/fyeahfest

www.fyeahfest.com

DAY 2: SUN. AUGUST 31ST

LA SCAVENGER HUNT

INFO ABOVE.

After the LA Scavenger Hunt

Sunday, August 31st

DAN DEACON

KYLE MABSON

@ LOCATION TBA & IT’S A SECRET

$6 with hunt. $9 without / 8:00pm sharp / All Ages

Dan is flying straight from Ireland to play this show. For real. His flight leaves at 10am on Sunday, August 31st from Dublin, lands in LA in the afternoon and then goes straight to the show. This will be more epic than Woodstock 99!

Sunday, August 31st

POLVO

TRANS AM

THE DRONES

@ the EchoPlex

$12 with hunt $15 without / 8:00pm / All Ages

Sunday, August 31st

Special Guest Headliner

PAINT IT BLACK

FINAL FIGHT

BROKEN NEEDLE

@ 6th St Warehouse

$8 / 7:00pm / All Ages

AND WE ARE HAVING A PRE PARTY AT THE GLASSHOUSE WITH ONE OF OUR FAVORITE BANDS, THE MELVINS!!!!

Friday, August 29th F YEAH FEST PRESENTS:

THE MELVINS

NEGATIVE APPROACH

BIG BUSINESS

@ the Glasshouse 200 W. Second St. Pomona, CA 91766

$16 / 7:00pm / All Ages

Note: This show is almost sold out. We highly recommend buying in advance.

INCASE & F YEAH FEST:

F Yeah Fest has teamed up with Incase for a project to raise money for 826LA. We will be screen printing shirts & tote bags onsite at the festival on Saturday August 30th and will be taking donations, all of which will be given to 826LA. There will be artwork by five well known artists to choose from.

Here’s how it will work:  

You choose the design.

You choose the color.

You help kids learn.

It’s that simple. Thank you to Article 1 clothing for donating the shirts for this project and Incase for making this happen. 

And we’d also like to give a shout out to the following for helping make this year’s fest happen.

Finger Prints Music – http://www.indierecordshop.com

Video Thing – http://www.videothing.com

Article 1 Clothing – http://www.article1.net

Microcosm Publishing – http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

Family Bookstore – http://familylosangeles.com

Secret Headquarters – http://www.thesecretheadquarters.com

826LA – http://www.826la.com

JAX ART – http://www.jaxart.net

Cafe Bustelo – http://www.bustelocool.com/

Sean Agnew & the Philadelphia Eagles

7 -11 for making the Dr. Pepper Slurpee

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS:

Tickets for the LA Scavenger Hunt are on sale at – http://larecord.com/interviews/2008/08/13/on-sale-now-la-scavenger-hunt-tickets/ 

Tickets are on sale for the fest at www.ticketweb.com tickets for both events can be purchased at the locations below.

Secret Head Quarters

3817 W. Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

90026

(323) 666-2228

Note: Only location on the east side to get tickets. In Silverlake near Hyperion in the junction.

Headline Records

7706 Melrose Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90046

(323) 655-2125

Note: Next to Fairfax High School on Melrose.

Family Bookstore

436 N. Fairfax Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

323.782.9221

Note: Between Beverly & Melrose. Next to the old Club Largo.

Vinyl Solution

18822 Beach Blvd

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

(714) 963-1819

Note: Only OC location to purchase tickets.

Soundsations

8701 La Tijera Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90045

(310) 641-8877

Note: Near LAX and just south of Santa Monica.

Finger Prints Music

4612 E 2nd St,

Long Beach, CA 90803

(562) 433. 4996

Note: In Belmont Shores. Where I work.

If you read this blog, then you know that I gushed and gushed and gushed and gushed about the second week of July in New York City this summer. Well, I’m back to gush again about the third week of October this Autumn. (If you’ve really been paying attention, I actually asked for one of these tours way back in March).

That being said, if all of my paychecks come in on time (freelancing is a pain), then I’ll be at least three. The first one would be the most exciting if Webster Hall wasn’t such a shithole. I’ve never been a big Thrice fan, and Rise Against and AK3 haven’t really held my attention over the past four or five years, but that’s a really solid lineup for younger kids. I’ll be at the Revival Tour that night though with my fellow neck-bearded whiskey drinkers. And yeah, I haven’t seen NOFX since maybe ‘99 so I’m excited for that too. 

October 11: Webster Hall; Against Me!, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Future of the Left

October 13: Roseland Ballroom: Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, The Gaslight Anthem

October 13; Blender Theater at Grammercy: Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Tim Barry (Avail), Ben Nichols (Lucero)

Ocotber 15, 16: Irving Plaza: NOFX, Dillinger Four

Every year I feel like those pesky back-to-school commercials start earlier and earlier. Before kids can even begin to enjoy summer they’re bombarded with the decision on what to where on the first day of school. This is especially true with reaching college aged kids. Why? Because the decisions you make, the trends you follow, the lifestyle that you choose in college tend to set a standard for the rest of your life. Marketers know this. Advertisers know this. I know this.

Knowing this got me thinking…if there was a band, out right now, that could really fall into that category, who would it be? Of course, there are the classic college bands…The Replacements for the rebel set, Dave Matthews Band for the Greek crowd, Phish for the stoners, Sonic Youth for the liberal arts majors, or The Beatles for everybody in between. These are the bands that most people hear late in high school or early in college and really start to bond to. But what band is carrying that torch right now? The Hold Steady. That’s right, a band with the average age of an estimated 35 years old is the band that college kids everywhere are (or at least should be) falling in love with. 

Why? Because they fit in every corner. The rebel set likes them because they’re doing their own thing. They tour with punk bands, they put on a sweaty, lively show, and they aren’t exactly the kind of people you’d bring home to mom and dad. The Greek crowd likes them because they sing about drinking. Their lyrics are as simple and relatable. The stoners like them because honestly, you can imagine getting stoned with these guys. The liberal arts crowd likes them due to some sort of intellectual irony (and also, Pitchfork likes them, so that kind of helps too). Everybody else likes them because they’re catchy, and they seem like relatively normal dudes. 

You’re probably wondering what the point of all of this is. The point is, is that I find it really impressive when a band can really cater to so many different audiences. The point is also for any college students who happen to google onto this article. You’re going to have a lot of stuff thrown in your face in the next few years. Make sure to use some sort of a mental colander to strain out the crap. I promise, there’s something refreshing out there. Maybe The Hold Steady will even turn you on to something else. That’s really the point anyways, isn’t it?

From the front man of the legendary Detroit Octane, the newest classic from Detroit Ocean. Enjoy.

For as much hype as I made for this weekend, it totally lived up. And yeah, I know this was almost two weeks ago, but I’ve been busy (I got engaged!). So deal with it. I’m not going to review too much, except to say this about all of the bands that I saw.

Since I’m not reviewing, you can read these reviews:

F Yeah Fest Tour

Hot Water Music, Thursday, Paint it Black

Monotonix, Crystal Antlers

Monotonix are insane. Nothing strikingly original or unique, but an amazing live show. I’ve never seen a drummer crowd surf before…with his kit.

Matt and Kim aren’t that amazing, but their smiles are. Every time I see them its so inspiring to see how happy they are on stage.

I hadn’t seen Dillinger Four in a few years, but they were a lot of fun. Paddy is one of those front men who manages to be pretty funny without getting to annoying.

Circle Jerks were fun too, but there was definitly an old-ness factor to them. Sitting backstage next to Greg Hetson and Keith Morris was kind of intimidating.

Hot Water Music were great. We cabbed it up from the Circle Jerks show to catch them in their second song.

After HWM, we went back downtown to catch Monotonix again (their shtick is impressive but grows old) and then Crystal Antlers who are going to be huge.

Back in April I participated in this pop-culture trivia thing with The Nielsen Company that went really well. I’ve done it again, this time about the olympics. These questions are super hard, but the winner gets a Wii, a bunch of sports games, and more, so you should totally sign up and do it. Seriously. Do me a huge favor, click on the link, join the site, and try the quiz. See how you’ll do. 

http://www.heynielsen.com/trivia/?friend=otrv

I like to consider myself somewhat of a Los Angeles ambassador here in New York. I’m always sticking up for my hometown, running around town in my Dodgers hat or Magic Johnson jersey, reminding people that Hollywood is just a small piece of what LA has to offer. I’m always always very proud of the fine musical tradition that LA has had to offer. From The Beach Boys to, Tom Waits, X, The Germs, or NWA, LA has contributed more than its fair share of amazing music to the rest of the world. 

Yet, for some reason LA bands always seem to get the shaft. So often The Velvet Underground is given credit for their proto-punk sound and attitude, but it was The Doors who inspired bands like The Stooges and the MC5 to form. Bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains are often considered the fist hard-core bands, but everything they did they learned from Middle Class and Black Flag. You can also look at the other huge contribution to music from LA…hair metal…the most mocked and shit-on genre in the history of rock and roll (ok, sometimes for good reason). If you’re going to tell me that Van Halen, Guns N Roses, and Motley Crue weren’t great bands, then you weren’t paying attention. And let’s be honest, had those bands been from New York, they would still be praised daily. If you don’t think so, or you don’t think that LA has contributed vastly to modern music, then in the words of Axl Rose 

You’re crazy, hey, hey 
You know you’re crazy, oh my! 
You’re fuckin’ crazy, oh child 
You know you’re crazy, Ay, ay, ay, ay, 
You know you’re crazy, Hey, hey, 
You’re fuckin’ crazy, Oh child, 
You know you’re crazy, Ay, ay, ay, ay, 
You’re fuckin’ crazy, Yeah 
You know you are! 
Bring it down! 
You’re fuckin’ crazy! 

I’ve noticed a trend over the past six months, all of a sudden bloggers are beginning to give a shit about LA bands. Yes, bands like The Bronx, Autolux, Qui, and Devendra Barnhart have gotten their fair share of hype and praise, but that pales in comparison to what bands like The Strokes, Interpol, or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have received.  But now, bands like No Age, Crystal Antlers, Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko, and The Mae Shi are getting a lot of attention. I have to admit, its exciting. Its exciting to show people that LA is made up of creative, artistic, and progressive people that are interested in doing something new and exciting, not just in scoring a major label deal. Its exciting that an interesting, dangerous, and fun band like No Age is getting the same type of attention that a mediocre band like Vampire Weekend is. Its exciting to hear music that isn’t made by the same people, from the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, wearing the same clothes, and re-hashing the same influences. 

So, one, I’d like to tell you to watch out..some of these bands will be huge in the next couple of years.

And, two, I’d like to propose a compilation. If anybody can make it happen, do it. I’ll do the press and marketing for it, we can do it for charity, we can do it for free. I’d like to see some of LA’s newest artists covering some of LA’s most historical artists. Buddyhead? Anybody?  Here’s my proposal.

Qui – “We Got the Nuetron Bomb” by The Weirdos

The Drips with Annie from Giant Drag – “Los Angeles” by X

400 Blows – “I Don’t Care’ by The Circle Jerks

No Age – “Myage” by the Descendents

The Briggs – “Hanging on the Telephone” by The Nerves

The Mae Shi – “Lexicon Devil” by The Germs

Mika Miko – “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways

The Bronx – “Wasted” by Black Flag

Rocket – “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Gos

Darker My Love – “Darker My Love” by TSOL

Abe Vigoda – “This Aint No Picnic” by The Minutemen

Crystal Antlers – “The Beat Goes On” by The Screamers

Burning Brides – “Let’s Have a War” by Fear

Big Business – “Kids of the Black Hole” by The Adolescents

****This is really just something I think would be cool, please note, there are no plans for this to happen._****

That being said, if you have any other ideas, let me know. If you don’t know any of these bands, go check them all out, I could link to each one of them but that would take forever. Also, if you haven’ read it yet, go check out “We Got the Neutron Bomb”.