CrapMonkey Podcast - Music, Technology, Beer, Seattle

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #134

CrapMonkey Travis — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:16:06 +0000

It’s 70 degrees on a Friday night, so I’m sitting in my office boiling. That said, there’s some fun stuff to mention, so I thought I’d do make a quick podcast. First of all, a new brewery will be opening soon in Fremont aptly called Fremont Brewing. I’m always glad to see a new brewery open up in the neighborhood and their blog is a great way to keep up on their progress. Additionally, the Washington Brewer’s Festival is taking place at Saint Edward’s Park in Juanita on June 20th, so you better get that on your calendar. The Fremont Fair is the same weekend. On June 13th, Seattle BrewMuster is taking place at Gallagher’s in Edmonds, there are still a couple more days to get tickets if you’re interested. Pyramid Brewery rebranded their top beers – seems kind of strange to me, but what do you think?

Want to get addicted to a simple little video game? Try out Shift.

The song of the day is One Day Soon by Mark Colety and the website of the day is bing.com. We end the show on a CrapMonkey Spool Sample featuring Tesla’s Forever More.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #133

CrapMonkey Travis — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:58:33 +0000

This edition of the CrapMonkey Podcast is a bit of a mixed bag. In technology news, Internet Explorer 8 has released and is available for free download (you might also want to check out this funny ie8 promo video that includes web celebs like the Ask a Ninja Ninja). Also, scientists have developed a macromolecule that should lead to a self-healing clear coat that may make your car’s paint or your devices screens repair their own scratches. Addicted to Twitter? Find more people to follow with WeFollow.com. Speaking of following, you should also follow the Love Long and Prosper Podcast – so I included a fun promo for it in today’s show.

Discover Magazine has a cool series called “20 Things You Didn’t Know About…” that is worth checking out. The topics of “Television” and “Time” are certainly worth a read. Are you in to retro 3D? If so, get your glasses on and check out Swell3d.com. However, if this episode is getting you into too good of a mood, maybe you should take a look at thingstobemiserableabout.com.

Finally, there is just a smidge of beer news in this eposide (since I missed the Washington Cask Festival). Seattle Beer Week is coming up in May. Check out the Seattle Beer Week website to learn more about what that entails.

The song of the day is Hangman by Zach Harjo and we close the show on Broken Halos. Both songs are from Zach’s upcoming album called Dark Poems. It’s not out yet, but you can catch Zach this Wednesday (April 1st) on KEXP or on Saturday April 4th at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard. The website of the day is Playboy’s cover-to-cover site, a free archive of high quality, scanned playboy issues spanning the publication’s history. Also included in this episode is a restroom review of Sully’s Lounge in Queen Anne.

What’s wrong with the picture below? This is a rare glimpse of the Seattle Space Needle at night without its normal illumination. The lights were shut off for one hour on Saturday night in observance of Earth Hour. As you can see, very little of the rest of the city played along.

By the way – on Thursday, April 2nd, there will be a Tweetup at Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle. I hope to see you there! (Click the link to RSVP).

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #132

CrapMonkey Travis — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:59:05 +0000

In this very short episode I share a few of the latest editions to the crapmonkey family of products. First off, KarateKidPose.com has been updated to enable voting, so get out there and vote for your favorite photos and submit your own (be sure to come back often as photos will be added regularly). Additionally, the CrapMonkey Cube Audio Clip Player is now available for general use. Click on the “Share Audio” page from this blog to try it out.

Mix 2009 is coming up next week (March 18-20) in Las Vegas – be sure to check it out in person or online if you’re interested in the future of the web. Also, It’s never too early to start planning for the Oregon Brewers Festival (July 23-26th). Get your hotel now and I’ll see you at the brewfest!

The song of the day is flickr, by Jonathan Coulton (view a great video version of it here – and a live version here). The website of the day is washingtonbeerblog.com. The show closes on a song called Amway, by Fanny Alger.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #131

CrapMonkey Travis — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:06:30 +0000

It’s amazing how fast the time goes. In this episode, we listen to a brief audio clip from the last sunny day of the season when Wendy and I attended the Oyster Run in Anacortes (photos available here). Winter’s not all bad though, the 4th Annual Winter Brewfest is at Hales Ales on December 5th and 6th. Starting to compile your Christmas list? Perhaps the beer lovers on your list might like this remote control beer cooler. Or, perhaps you’d rather get creative and make your own portable kegerator.

I’m extremely pleased to note that Redhook has released their Double Black Stout for a limited time (production of the beer was halted in 2000). This was my favorite beer back in the late 90s when it was brewed with Starbucks coffee, and it’s still quite delicious today – though I don’t know what coffee they use now.

Lately I’ve been using a new service call ChaCha. This service is a great way to get information on the fly – just text 242242 with any question, and they will text you back an answer.

The website of the day is Truemers and the Song of the day is Evelee, by Darren Lucas. Today’s episode closes on Something New by John Francis. Click the Arrow below to listen to the episode.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #130

CrapMonkey Travis — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:16:06 +0000

It’s the first day of Fall and what better way to celebrate than with a CrapMonkey Podcast. First off, I want to invite you to a benefit for Jeff Fielder who recently had some of his favorite instruments stolen while he was on the road with Sera Cahoone. It will be at Station in Ballard on October 3rd (download flyer) and you may also make a donation to the Fielder cause via PayPal (note: I accidently said Oct 4th in the podcast – please note my slip of the tongue!). In this episode, we chat about technology topics including the Democratic National Convention Online Media Gallery, Chrome, Internet Explorer 8 beta 2, and Zune 3.0. We also chat about some low tech but useful gadgets including the SwirlyGig and the Ring Thing. In beer news, Budweiser released their newest beer American Ale (strangely released shortly after being bought by InBev). Finally, I want to encourage you to check out the History Hackers pilot which airs Friday on the History Channel.

The song of the day is (fittingly) Rob You Blind by Jeff Fielder and the show closes on Last Disguise, also by Jeff Fielder. The website of the day is ThrilltheWorld.com.

Tin Hat All Girl Arm Wrestle 2008

CrapMonkey Travis — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:43:11 +0000

This year’s all girl arm wrestling tournament to benefit Home Alive took place on Monday evening, September 15th at the Tin Hat in Ballard. This event is fun filled and loaded with… well, whatever is the female version of testosterone. Sponsored by Tin Hat and PBR, the event is a Ballard favorite that just wrapped up its fourth year running. Watch this year’s festivities below or check out last year’s event here.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #129

CrapMonkey Travis — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:03:38 +0000

It’s hot in Seattle! I’m not complaining, but it’s a short show cause it’s just too hot in the Crapmonkey “Studio” to stay for any length of time. Looking for something to do this weekend? The Rails to Ales Brewfest is coming up in Cle Elum on Saturday, July 12th. If you’re not down with heading that far East, you might just go as far as Redmond and visit the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Concert (July 12 & 13). Personally, I’m looking most forward to the Oregon Brewfest coming up at the end of the month (Click here to view a video I produced at last year’s brewfest). In Tech news, Bill Gates retired this week. A great retrospective collection of videos is located on Microsoft.com.

The Song of the Day is Rooftop by Sunday Morning Music. They are not together anymore, but you might want to keep track of former members, Jeff Fielder and Zach Harjo. The Website of the day is viewzi.com and we close the show with a song called 4th of July by Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #128

CrapMonkey Travis — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:08:39 +0000

Lots of things going on lately. I spent the weekend bobbing in the water off Alki getting my PADI scuba open water certification. In this episode, we talk a bit about the Iron Maiden Concert on June 2nd and listen to a couple of clips from that show – Including some thoughts Bruce Dickinson had regarding Grunge and the media coverage of it. In this episode we cover some beer news some upcoming events including the next week’s Seattle Podcast Meetup, The Father’s Day Washington Brewers Festival, and the Phinney Neighborhood Association Beer Taste in July.

The song of the day is Movie, by Katie Davis and the website of the day is GuerrillaMail.com. We close the show on clips from the Iron Maiden concert.

The CrapMonkey Podcast Episode #127

CrapMonkey Travis — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:43:38 +0000

Thanks for tuning in to another Crapmonkey Podcast. There has been a lot going on lately… but enough about me. Let’s look at what’s coming up in the near future. In the beer department, there are a few different festivals to look forward to attending. Right around the corner on May 2nd and 3rd is the Hop Scotch Spring Beer and Scotch Festival. July 4 through July 6th is the Seattle International Beerfest and from July 18th through July 20th is the Portland International Beerfest. If you can do only one brewfest in Oregon this year, you’ll want to check out the Oregon Brewfest July 24th through July 27th (warning: hotels book up fast!). Check out last year’s Oregon Brewfest Video! Looking for something to do on Memorial Day Weekend? How about attending the Crypticon Horror Convention in Seattle or the Vancouver International Digital Festival in Canada? In the Tech arena, Microsoft has launched Live Mesh as a tech preview. If you need help getting your digital life in sync, Live Mesh might be just the right thing for you.

The song of the day is Souls Come Rising by Lords of the North and the website of the day is TeachStreet.com. The show closed on What’s Eatin’ You by Airbourne, recorded live (from the crowd) at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. Special thanks to the AndyCast Podcast for the intro, go subscribe to Andycast – you’ll laugh till you stop!

Bow Down Before the Lords of the North

CrapMonkey Travis — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:05:37 +0000

Some call it stoner rock – perhaps due to how the songs give way to occasional low tuned, psychedelic jams; or maybe because the lyrics depict dark winter landscapes filled with rising souls and flying falcons. Whatever the case, the label doesn’t do justice to the heavy, blues driven rock that defines the Lords of the North.
Rising from the dark cold regions of the Pacific Northwest, Lords are bound to make their presence known in Seattle. The Lords of the North bring a heavy and dark sound that is a refreshing throwback to the early Black Sabbath days. Likewise, though only a three piece band, Pat Kearney, James Roche and Tony Tharp manage to deliver a powerful performance with the raw authenticity of a Bleach era Nirvana.
I caught their debut show at the Rendezvous last week, which incidentally, was also their CD release party. Though I could sense they are just beginning to pull together their game face when it comes to playing live together, they still played a great set and the crowd was amped. Lords of the North are definite up-and-comers, so check them out while you can still see them in a small venue. They play Wednesday night (April 2nd) at the Comet and will be live on KEXP from the High Dive in May. Check out their Myspace site or buy their album online from Amazon (DRM free).
While at their show, I captured a recording with a ZOOM micro-recorder I had stashed in my pocket. If this was their first official show, the clips below must be the first official bootlegs (disclaimer: since these tracks were recorded from my pocket, I highly suggest that you only use these recordings to supplement the Studio album). Enjoy.