It's a Booty Happening.

My Shag Skateboard Deck || The Hunt

2013-12-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

The relationship between me and Josh Agle (aka Shag) began somewhere around the turn of the last century. I had always be an avid appreciator of the arts and had always loved Tiki Bars. So when his artwork stared at me one day from a glossy art magazine, I was hooked. I immediately sent off what little money I had to a gent hanging out and promoting Shag's wares in Australia. A few weeks later by tube, I received Three Musicians and the "creme dela creme" (of the times) Departure Idlewild, Stopover Borneo, Arrival Ape City. Still, I was hungry for more. I devoured any sort of publication I could with an inkling of Shag. Early on, I realized that his original artwork was way beyond my meager budget. However I thought I should look for odd & unusual work from this artist I so much admired.

Upon reading those publications there was some mention by one of the interviews that he used to do some contract work for Foundation Skateboards when the company was first starting out. I thought to myself, more research is needed. Back then art wasn't done as "art" but more of as a graphic for the skater. Artist making skate decks for the only intense purpose of Art was not really heard of in the mid-nineties like it is today. These decks were ridden (with no protection) and completely destroyed. I thought how great it would be to find a deck that Shag had done the graphics on.

I quickly found the website, Art of Skateboarding and started to review all the hundreds of decks made by the Foundation Company. Then I stumbled upon some Josh Beagle and Brad Staba boards. Bingo! All reminiscent of Shag's early work. They were marked as "artist unknown" I thought to myself, "this is a good thing". Then began the hunt....A hunt that last for more than 4 years. Then one day there it appeared on eBay. It simply was entitled "Vintage Foundation Skate Deck" that was still in the shrinkwrap. I bought it and enjoyed it for many years displayed on my wall.

But with every beginning there is an end. With a marriage and several children now ruling the roost, the board came off the wall about 6 months ago. I figured that I would hang it down the road, but then I started to really think about giving it a new beginning to someone else and passing along the board to a new home of a Shag fan. And now it lays in the hands of eBay waiting for a new home. To be continued....

The Smith Strat || 1982 Stratocaster || Guitar Series

2013-10-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

This is the one that started it all for me. My first true love of an electrical instrument. It began one day about 14 years ago when I walked into The Starving Musician in Santa Clara. I saw wall after wall of these Fender guitars. Besides the paint job they all looked the same to me. The only difference that my novice eye could see in them was the price tag. They seemed to range from $200 to $2000. Why? I gauged that it was probably something to do with quality but I really wanted to find out what goes into making a good guitar. Especially a classic.

Some easy definitions were where they were manufactured. Overseas seemed to be cheaper. Vintage american instruments got to an outrageous amount of money for an instrument. More importantly as I searched deeper and deeper into peoples passion for stratocasters, I realized that there was this romantic love for this instrument. Be it maybe the musical life cut short of Buddy Holly or seeing Clapton gravitate to them in mid-career, people loved them. Then I started picking them up and understanding why they loved them. They are like a fine wine or a fine woman. They just feel right. Leo Fender hit it out of the park when he designed his second solid body guitar in 1954. The stratocaster has become as American as Baseball and Apple Pie. And I wanted one.

Many trips to Starving Musican came that year back in 2001. Their inventory always kept changing and they keep the shelves stocked with a good cross-section of instruments. Then it happened. The '82 stratocaster caught my eye. The first thing I noticed about it as I grabbed to take it off the rack was how heavy it was. It was a solid piece of machinery. It appeared aged, but not worn. I placed it on my knee and strummed a chord. Everything just felt right. It was the most solid piece of musical equipment I had ever felt. Still being a novice I knew little about this guitar besides that it just felt right. So after giving it an initial test run through an amp, I finished up my lunch break and went back to work. Not before noting the first couple of digits in the serial number on the headstock. E207....

Back at the desk I searched the internet for how to read Fender Serial Numbers. The first two digits were the decade and the specific year it was made. That would translate this one to 1982. But what caught my eye beyond the serial dating was an article. Somewhere out there on the internets, a fellow lover of the "smith strat" (as it became to be known) wrote about guitars made during the time that Dan Smith was hired as marketing manager for Fender. The Fender Musical Company wanted to attract players back to their instruments. They wanted the draw and allure that they had before Leo sold the Company to CBS in early 1965. Dan Smith had the idea to not cut corners and to use the same materials and quality control that had gotten away from Fender by the big corporate purchase. CBS was all about mass production and cutting costs. They started building quality instruments again in this magical year of 1982. They also had a revolutionary idea that year and a great marketing ploy to actually be able to charge more...they started the Vintage Series. They built reissue '57 Strats and reissue '62 Strats. Two key years in Stratocaster design. They were able to phase out the high cost of the typical american series strat and get more money for it by saying it was a vintage reissue. Brilliant. But for one key year they built all instruments of quality. Then the divisions began. They shipped off product to japan for the low-end entry level guitars, continued making the mid-level "american series" along with the new high end "Vintage Reissue" series.

So out of sheer luck and the lack of lore that now bestows the '82 Smith Strats, I was able to pick up my baby for the cost (at the time) of a brand new American Series. I thought it was quite a bargain back then. She taught me how to play the electric guitar. She taught me how to explores tones. She was my Number 1 for a good 10 years. I had many a good guitar. And utilized many a different guitar onstage as well as record. However, no guitar has been on more recordings or been played live more than my '82 Strat. Her frets are wearing a little thin and her paint job is a little more chipped than when I got her, but she is still a beauty in my eyes.

They are still out there. If you can find an '82 Strat in good condition for the price of a new Strat, my recommendation is at least plug her in and see how she sounds. My bets are that you wont be disappointed.

And this is how it sounds....

A Trip to Austin || Shenanigans || August 2013

2013-08-23T16:10:00.002-07:00

It had always been on the list. Through the years I had heard many a good thing about the city of Austin. Texas has never attracted me. But their capital city has. Solely due to the fact that so many friends who love music have told me about their adventures to Austin. Mine was about to happen.

A good friend (who happens to be a die hard music fan) is getting married. When asked where he would want to have his bachelor party there were only two choices; Nashville & Austin. He chose Austin. Fifteen middle-aged men piled into a flop house right on 6th and Brushy for a long weekend of booze, music and good times. I felt like I had shed twenty years of life.

Rolling into town on a Thursday afternoon we got situated and staked out a game plan for the night. One crew went boozing. I was really torn, not because I wanted to go boozing, I was already boozed up enough. A " new favorite" band was playing at the Parish on 6th. I had seen Diarrhea Planet earlier this year back home in San Jose when the opened for Jeff the Brotherhood. Both great bands. But something drew me closer to DP. Maybe it was the way they crammed so many goddamn guitars on the stage with out it sounding lame. Either way, I attempted to talk some guys into going to the Parish with me. The another contingent, led by Adam spoke up about having a friend playing over at the Broken Spoke. Some old Honky Tonk on the edge of town. I knew DP would be back and I was up for something new. I decided to head with those guys for some country music, Texas style.

I was not disappointed one bit. The bar was an outstanding piece of history where good times are still flowing readily. A true place for couples to intermingle and dance the night away to a real live band. Maybe it is me, but that shit just isn't happening like it used to. It was a thing of true beauty to see. Not mention the band, Jesse Dayton. This guy has a regular standing Thursday night gig at the Broken Spoke. Seeing them perform I knew why. They were a tight band that I would've of loved to have seen more of. The next morning in the local ad-rag I read an article about the development surrounding the place and its life is being threatened for stucco-bomb condos and strip mall shit. Let's hope it never happens because it is really damn hard to replicate 50 years of history. Enjoy it while you still can.

Friday night bOoze fest on dirty 6th. Lots of bull riding and dj's. Let's move on to Saturday.

Saturday morning started out at the Hula Hut, but quickly made its way to a South Congress joint called Guero's. Outside in the 100 degree heat we sat under misters, drinking many 'o Tecate listening to some sizzling blue by seasoned pros. These guys did not miss a beat. The old adage rings true, to play anywhere in Austin on a weekend, you've gotta be good. Paul Orta and The Kingpins ripped through some blues standards as well as some unfamiliar tunes.

A portion of the crew peeled off to participate in some true bachelor party activities, while three of us meandered under the hot sun until we found another bar. The Continental Club is an old supper club with a wonderful history. They don't serve supper anymore, just booze and live music practically every day of the week. Cornell Hurd was up on stage with his big band doing his thing that he has done for 40 plus years. We sat in the back and dranks some beers soaking up the atmosphere. With a mid-day buzz rolling we curbed our hunger and headed back to the crash pad for some rest.

That night a crew wanted to go back down to 6th street for some hard partying. I had different plans. I saw that this band, The Hex Dispensers, were playing that night less than a half a block from where I was staying. Checking them out online I realized that it was my calling to go see this band perform. How well I know myself.

When I showed up, the second band was setting up. Crooked Bangs set their minimal gear up and then set the stage on fire. Watch out for this band. Damn, I would see them again in a heartbeat. Snappy drummer, heavy bass and noisy guitar...what more could I ask for? They sounded like a cross between early Kings of Leon and the Melvins. All but better. A young band. Once the bass player gets an Ampex SVT with an 8x10 cab and the guitarist get a vintage Marshall or fender and keeps rocking that jazzmaster the tones will only sweeten up!

I was satisfied. Then the Hex Dispenser came out. Hotter than hot. They sounded awesome with no bass and intertwining vocals. I didn't realize it with my preview but they were very reminiscent of my own band with two guitars, no bass and a woman drummer with screaming backing vocals. See for yourself.

What a way to end a trip to Austin. I hope that any and all bands come to the West Coast. I will be there!

Videos of The Hex Dispensers, Crooked Bangs and the ever gracious Jesse Dayton:

Jump on in that ol' Band Wagon || Record Store Day || April 20, 2013

2013-04-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

A few years back I had heard the tales of Record Store Day. I have always been behind Record Stores. It started for me in High School. I can pinpoint it even further to Mr. Cauter's Music Appreciation Class, deep in the cement bowels of California High School. As a teen, I had heard rumors that this was the coolest class in town, especially for music lovers. James Cauter would take young minds through the History of Music with a large dose of Beatles due to his "Beatle Friday" segment. The highpoint would be the field trip into Berkeley to go record shopping. Cauter's objective was to expose the valley kids in suburban San Ramon to something a little deeper within the confines of the musical acquisition library, mom & pop record stores, specializing in obscure albums and cheap used records. A used record? I had never heard of this concept. At Wherehouse Records or the two mall mainstays, Rainbow Records and Musicland, you could get anything beyond the Eagles and Rick Springfield. A brand spanking new dimension for a young impressionable mind.

That trip introduced me to record stores like Rasputins, Tower Records & Leopolds along with Blondie's Pizza and Aardvarks Odd Ark. We started taking monthly trips out to Berkeley and Walnut Creek. Trying to find obsure, new wave and metal albums with all our buddies. I didn't own a car so it came down to bumming a ride with any friend who was willing to take an adventure or taking the Bus to Walnut Creek and hopping on BART and out to Berkeley. What wonderful adventures exploring new cities and new music all at the same time. I remember when we had heard about this record store called "Asta's Records" over on the other side of town off college avenue in Oakland. There we discovered their pile of weekly brought in imports from Europe. We were stoked!

The twelve inch album has always held a place close to my heart. Ever since my parents upgraded their stereo system and gave me the old 60s stereo console I was hooked (besides the radio it only played records). My brother was a new adapter, heavy into tapes and when CDs came along, he was the first one I knew of with a CD player. He toted the quality of sound and the infinite life of a CD. I poo poo'd the price and the minimal detail of information only found on an object of 12 inches. I kept buying records. I had a nice collection. That collection was halted in the 90s when corporations were not pressing LPs and the necessity of being in college, poor, and light in my travels drove me into the CD market. There I got lost.

As time went on and technology grew more powerful I found myself like many americans of today, downloading MP3s and listening, discovering and gobbling up music all digitally. The waves of sound kept coming faster and faster in my soul. Last year I realized that I may be still listening to a lot of music, but I wasn't really "listening". It was all just background noise in my life. I needed to slow down my own process and really listen and enjoy music. I dusted off my old record collection and started listening again. I started buying records. I would go out to my record player in the studio and just listen to a side of an album. Really listen. It has helped me slow down in this fast pace world and focus on just a few thoughts. Music. And what attracted me to it in the first place. I don't ever want to lose that. I want to hold onto that concept and more importantly pass it along to my children. Which brings us to current day.

A few weeks ago my sister passed along all our old childhood disney story book records. My daughter and I have been listening to them quite a bit. She loves the concept of the record and the needle and the stories that are told. I love passing along heritage. So when Record Store Day popped into my consciousness again yesterday I decided to make a date out of it with her. We sourjourned to a packed Streetlight Records on Bascom in San Jose, where she picked up her own first long playing record; Chip & Dale sing and tell stories with Donal Duck. Afterwards we went to 7Eleven and got some Slurpees. She was stoked and I was reminiscent of my own childhood trips to record stores with my own father. A tradition has begun. We will faithfully follow the tradition of supporting small, independent record stores on this one day of the year. And maybe take a trip or two back during other days too.

The Top Ten Videos I watched on Youtube in 2012

2013-02-11T07:45:00.001-08:00

I wanted to compile a list of my favorite videos from 2012. In these times we and utterly and completely overloaded with data and information. That is why, for my own memories sake, I wanted to compile a list of watching history of Youtube for 2012. Here it is:

St. Vincent- I dig a pony
Eric from The Pinks introduced me to St. Vincent through this video. Oh boy, he hit it out of the park with this selection. I have searched and searched other videos online of St. Vincent, but in my opinion nothing compares to this gripping rendition of a Beatles classic. The tones generated from her Harmony Bobcat guitar along with the watery effects processor on her other mic during the chorus makes this tune her own. Then there is her guitar playing....shit, I wish I had the touch she has. A simple and amazing cover tune.

Nilsson with Keith moon
Nilsson schmillson was a staple in the record rotation growing up as a kid. I knew I always liked the guy but it wasn't until I became a musician that I really appreciated the talent behind this guy. Like many tortured souls, he was his own worst enemy. He sure did give the world something to remember him by. This tune is one of my favorite rhythmic tribal chants. Then I came across this rare footage of him jamming with Keith Moon. Boy, I wonder what was in their system while making this video. Probably a lot illegal contraband and I will place money on it that it was probably shot somewhere between the hours of 3 and 5 am.

Pujol - Reverse Vampire

So, Pujol...yes, he is one of my favorite finds of the year. Such a talented young musician. I wrote about his new album earlier this year. It is a really great piece of work. However, in this acoustic version of the song on the record, Reverse Vasmpire, really highlights this singer songwriters talent. All in a sterile office environment. The young Bob Dylan really comes through in this video. The question I have to ask myself is, "who is Ben Todd?"

Bo Diddley - Live 1973
When I watch this video, it inspires me. Bo is in the top of his show man game, just working the crowd like a man on a mission. When he goes up for the pants splitting leg apart jump it also informs me of who inspired David Lee Roth. We all can benefit from the joy of live music. Especially Bo's audience, just lapping up what the man is giving. A thing of beauty.

The Shock of the New (series) - Robert Hughes
I found out about this series through a Time obituary. The author of the book and the series, , passed away in 2012. The piece in Time intrigued me. It spoke of a compre.hensive history of modern art in the 20th century so compelling that the BBC wanted to turn it into an educational series. Class starts now....

Bill Withers - Use Me 1972
This song is a mastery of live production. It truly demonstrates the genius of a Bill Withers song. The instrument inteplay is amazing and sounds like nothing before it and nothing after it. It is just a wonderful live performance. I also might plug watching his documentary "Still Bill" here. I caught it this winter and it's a very uplifting story.

36 seconds of my past
This is a video I took last year on a walk i did with my buddy, Joe Izzo and my daughter. Joe passed away in January of this year. We new he was dying but it always sucks when you lose somebody who has been such an inspiration in your life among many others. He was dying in this video, still check out the positivity in his voice. A funny lovable character Joe was...and one person who actually got me writing. I love watching this video. I am sure half the view count is mine.

Nirvana - Practicing and the Novoselic house circa '88
Just watch this video. Pure genius at such a young age. This video puts your there.

The Gories "There by the Grace of God" Homemade Music Video
This is soul. I don't know what else to say besides thanking the person who captured this video. Plus it is a Kid Creole and the Coconuts song. How cool is that?

Geraldine Fibbers - Dragon Lady
I sought out this band after seeing Nels Cline earlier in the year. He put me on a major movational surge toward good sounding guitar. He was in this band, but not at the time of this video. I believe that this is an earlier video. Carla's voice is so beautifully haunting...then guitar. Huge hook at the chorus. How can a sucker for a huge hook not love this video?

Pujol || United States of Being || Album Review 2012

2012-07-24T14:06:00.002-07:00

I stumbled upon this artist completely by accident. I had been meaning to buy something from Jack White's Third Man Records for quite some time now. Finally I had a little extra cash come my way and I picked up the new Jack White, a single of his from the movie "It Might Get Loud" and I wanted to pick up a live record from the Live at Third Man series. I randomly picked Pujol. What an awesome experience hearing this 6 song live EP that they put out. I immediately started to research this young artist who was kicking some live ass and taking names. I noted that he had just released a new full length album. I went to my local record store to pick up a copy. I could not find it. I went to the other local record store and thank the lord all mighty they had one copy of United States of Being.

Upon first listen my impression was that the live tracks had more intensity. Way more intensity. But I began to look deeper into the tunes. Pujol is a poet. There is no other word to describe what ink flows out of his pen. The compilation of these songs are ones that come from the heart. The word play is witty and the furthest thing from boring. Songs today tend to be trite and redundant and just plain boring. This description runs the gamut from emo love songs to hardcore punk rock to danceceterra rap music. The same old thing that is pumped through our systems; hashed and rehashed up like an old sack of potatoes. The closest thing that one may get to something that is real would be some of the modern folk artists (like Conor Oberst, et al..) or a an underground veteran for the last 25 yrs, like Jeff Tweedy. Still, I like to rock. Bright Eyes or Mumford and Sons don't rock. Wilco may rock 20% of the time. This new album by Pujol plain and simply rocks. It has a certain energy within it that makes me want to go out and see this band live. I love that. Now let's get down to dissecting a little bit of this album. It is not all perfect but a worthy acquisition.

DIY2K- starts off the album. It is an anthem. It will get your toes tapping and your hands clapping. It makes you want to sing a long. But read along to the album with the lyrics because this songs lets you know what you are about to be in store for. Mission From God- This song is where Pujol really rips apart his ribcage and shows you the soul buried deep inside. It is just a brilliant number that has a toe tapping energy that makes me want to smile. And isn't that what music and art is all about? Expression. Providence- I did not particularly care for this song on the first listen (which happened to be a live solo acoustic version I found on youtube). But after several listens to the produced version on the album I see it comes to sit in the third position out of the gate. It is really radio friendly. A lot of this album (and especially his live recorded performances) has a raw garage rock, punk attitude feel about them. This can get airplay on mainline stations and probably could appeal to a more mainstream audience. It is growing on me. Keeper of Atlantis- Ah, an ode to Dad. That is how this song comes screaming out of the gates at me. A beautifully written nod to the lessons and stories handed down to one generation to the next. And either you can relate to it or hate it. Either way it is true emotion. Made of Money- Irony. Not my favorite track on the album, but catchy enough. Endless Mike- Oh shit! Now we are getting deep into the good stuff. This song kicks ass. The funny thing is that it totally threw me for a loop on the first listen. See, it is the first cut on the live EP I purchased from Thirdman. In other words, the live version was my full and uninvited introduction into Pujol. It blew my mind. I'd buy that record all over again for that track alone. -This one is slowed down, more melodically driven and well produced that only adds to the emotion of the song. As Endless Mike led off the heart of the line next up comes probably my favorite song on the album, Reverse Vampire. Such a great chanting tune with remarkable musicianship put on by all musicians. But the what makes this catchy little tune particulary good is the poetry that has been turned into lyrics. It starts off:

When I look around

And what I see is not the best

But it's good enough for me

right here right now

I guess

It's sort of boring

I got a million ways

To occupy my mind

And waste my time

Then the toms come in strong and the second verse starts and it is just plain brilliant. The production of the song has a great building effect. So good! The bridge is just the right length and the simplisty make it very approachable by most music fans. I cannot say enough positive things about this tune on United States of Being....until you hear the acoustic version of just Daniel and his beat up six string playing this to a handful of fans in an office environment (see below). One thing comes to mind; I think Bob Dylan would approve. Niceness-This song did not strike a chord with my right away. Probably due to the fact that it is sandwiched in between two of my favorites on the album. I gave it several listens in a row to really get a good sense of what it is all about. First off, it is an ode to positivity. A chant. An anthemn to keeping a smile on your face. I like the birds a tweetin' at the beginning however, the stuttered drum entrance into music is not pleasing to the song. Don't know why. Maybe it just doesn't agree with me. This song is probably insanely awesome live due to the powerful nature of the chant associated with strong drums and power chords. Black Rabbit-This would be considered the "single" on the album. It was the first studio produced number that I heard due to my youtube search and this official music video came up (great video! Is it directed by the Stewart Copeland? See below). This song like so many others on this album just has a wonderful rhythmic pulse to it. The beginning stabs and opening howl get you going in the right direction, then pure garage pop genius follows. I can easily listen to this song over and over and over again. It should be a pre-requisite for all struggling artist on how to right a good song. Each And Every Day- Tonally this song begins and Dinosaur Jr. come to mind. A little "Feel the Pain" but the pain only lasts moments as the vocals kick in and a newborn man with a highness for life begins to go on a mantra about life. It is a good tune however I see why it is buried in the back of the album. Pujol is still a young artist and coming out of the gates with such strong numbers beforehand it is really tough to top it. This is a filler. A filler that gets bonus points for the solid clap tracks strategically placed in the tune. Dark Knight in Shining Armor- Did the kid like DC Comics way back when. Again another album filler. Not too bad but it was smart of them to make this and the song before it short. Psychic Pain- Not much to say about the last song on the album. More of a ballad. I always like big strong endings on Albums, but for marketing purposes this is probably a smart choice. One of the best parts of this song is the nice Tenessian draw you can hear while Pujol pronounce "pain". It's cute, but I always like to end on a high note. Speaking about that, not too sure of the minute dribble at the end. An album that comes out of the gates soooo strong deserves more.

Either way, Please come west. I am 100% positive that the live Pujol show will be worth the price of admission and merit this artist a long and successful career.

Black Rabbit Official Music Video directed by Steward Copeland

Reverse Vampire Acoustic Version----> Who is Ben Todd?????

The United States of being is Daniel Pujol's decree to the listening world. At this time in his life and maybe for all of enternity, it is what he believes in...so much he had the instructions tattooed onto his rib cage and proudly posted it as the album cover for all the world to see.

The Pack A.D. || March 2, 2012 || The Rickshaw Stop -SF, CA

2012-03-05T11:08:00.002-08:00

I am a man who loves women. It's true, I do. And, to a guitar player, there could be no better site than that of woman who can rock like nobodies business. Looking past of my decree; The Pack A.D. concert last Friday night was a demonstration about the passion to not give a shit, go up on stage and play your brains out. And that is exactly what The Pack A.D. did to a meager crowd at the hipster "no-name on the door" Rickshaw Stop. They didn't even headline the show, a fellow Canadian band, Elliot Brood took the headlining honors. Brood was good, but damn, it must be hard going onstage after a dynamite infused set that the ladies, Becky and Maya, tore through. They are living proof that if you practice real hard, you'll look like you know what you are doing. They keep it real simple (unlike the opener Mwahaha who need to learn how to use their pedals before hitting the stage) and go for the classic formula of over-driven blues inspired rock and roll. But it is the attitude that really sets them far apart from any other young band I have seen in some time. It is like they have taken Mike Damone's 3rd rule in his "Five Point Plan" and they have mastered it. I am really pleased to have seen them in such a venue, because I believe the next time it will be across town at The Fillmore. And I will gladly shell out triple the cash and enjoy every minute of it.

Technical notes:
I figured that since I was able to get so close I might as well spew out Becky's rig setup as best as my memory can serve me. She played at LTD carved top guitar with two humbuckers. She played two amps, 1) '68 bassman amp through a newer Fender 2x12 Cabinet and a Marshall JCM900 through a Mesa 4x12 Cabinet. She was masterful at switching between the two amps for effect. As pedals go I believe she used a Boss SD-1 Overdrive and a Crybaby wah. She also played a bolt-on hollowbody neck Aria guitar tuned open for one slide song. I wish there was another one!

Top photo courtesy of Bagelradio and bottom two courtesy of Pat.

Here is the video I took:

Dreaming || 1984 Designer Series Gibson Flying V || Old Guitars

2012-01-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

In september of 1984 I was a 12 year old kid taking a huge bite out of the guitar licks bellowing from the Scorpions newly released album, "Love at First Sting". The dueling solos between Mattias Jabs and Rudolph Schenker filled my young head with dreams of someday being on stage wielding an axe nearly as cool as these guys. I loved Matthias' explorer, but oh that flying V was the real dream. Ever since I saw it sketched on Dave Fedorenko's book cover in math class the love affair began.

However years, responsibility, boredom, etc. got in the way and it took me until 2006 to finally think about getting a band together. The Booty Chesterfield Trio played the circuit for several years. My main axe at the beginning was a 1982 Smith Stratocaster by Fender. It is still a sweet guitar, but not much of an attention grabber. Around the end of 2009 I saw The Gillbillies play for the first time. The first thing that struck me about these cats was how bad ass Jimbo was for rocking a Flying V. The flame of my old (and almost forgotten) love was reignited. I wanted to be like Jimbo. I wanted to rock a Flying V. But not just any V would do. If there is one thing that I learned from The Gillbillies is that you have to have a different, unique approach. So I wasn't just going to find an "off the shelf" V; I wanted something with style.

Months went by. Then in February of 2010 I saw this beauty rear its ugly head on good old Craigslist. A 1984 Designer Series Gibson Flying V. I had to have it. Plus, I thought it was a heck of a deal. My main reason for acquiring it was kind of as a joke, i.e. to live out a childhood fantasy of rocking a Flying V on stage. Then I got my hands on it....

I got it off some kid in N. San Jose's Japantown. It was in decent shape. At one time it had stickers all over it that had been removed still the clear coat has aged at different times. The pickups had been switched out a long while back to Seymour Duncans. There were no breaks or major chips and the neck felt good. There were two missing volume knobs and a cracked tone knob. After a quick test run I quickly paid the chap his cash and headed home for a true test drive.

The first thing I noticed was how good the pickups sounded. I had a Classic Les Paul before with 500t & 496r pickups in it and it sounded like golden ringing compared to my LP (which I soon traded away). The neck also was super fast and played awesome. I replaced the volume and tone knobs with some old jaguar ones and we were off to the races. I played this guitar as my main stage axe for all of 2009 and pretty much all of the rest of the Booty Chesterfield Trio shows. I don't ever plan on selling this bad boy. Too cool for school, plus it has a little bit of my childhood metal roots embedded within those licks it puts out. Enjoy the pictures.

And here are a couple of videos of the V in action:

Live shots are courtesy of Ian Healy & Murray Bowles

Human Race 1, Pinks 0 || Thank you Joseph Izzo, Jr || Oct. 21, 1950 - Jan. 5, 2012

2012-01-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

Strike it up as a victory for all mankind. Joe Izzo walked this earth and left an indelible mark that will stay with me and I am sure many others for all of our entire lives. He was a true individual that saw the world in a unique perspective and passed that view unto others. It's known as being a teacher who is also an artist. He was one that could surprise the hell out of you, still if you had the opportunity to hang out with him more and more, one began to crave the surprise. You never were really quite sure what you were going to get but that was the true beauty behind Joe. Let me tell you how Joe and I came about to be friends.

The first time I met Joe was at a dinner party at my venerable Uncle Craig's house around 1995. Him and his lovely wife Lisa were in attendance and the first thing that struck me about Joe was not him, but Lisa. She had brought her Banjo and strummed it along to passing guitar chords assisted by my uncle all the time singing protest songs that she learned many years before while marching with Cesar Chavez for immigrant worker rights. This fascinated me. The look on Joe's face was pride mixed in with some subtle concern. Who were these people? My freshly marked "educated" brain was just entering the work-a-day world and interesting people have always perked my curiosity. Joe and Lisa fit this mold.

Our next occasion for really hanging out came to be known as "Tuesday's with Izzo" between me and my uncle. At 6am I would wake up and out in front of my little apartment in Los Gatos would be the surf sled with Joe behind the wheel and Craig riding shot-gun there to pick me up. Always a smile glued to both of their faces. We were going surfing. I always sat in back and they would usually just ramble on about anything that was on either of their minds. We'd roll up to the point, suit up and jump off the mothership and paddle out into the deep blue spacious swells generated by mother nature. Such a good way to start your day. Joe and I would usually do most of our talking out in the ocean waiting for sets. This is where I learned about the legend of J.J. Moon. Joe turns to me one morning amongst chit-chat and says, "Chad, you wanna know why I love surfing so much? Because just like J.J. Moon said, if they want you, they gotta come out and get you." Surfing is a time where we could really leave all of the worlds problems on the shoreline and just focus on living.

The most memorable car ride to go surfing can easily be pinpointed out as the time where I learned about the Mai Tai. We were headed to Santa Cruz early one morning. For some reason, be it possibly the kentucky derby, Joe was discussing Mint Julip's with my uncle and the topic quickly changed to a Mai Tai. I woke up from the back seat blurted out how I had never had a Mai Tai. Joe turned his whole body squarely facing me all the while still behind the wheel on the 17 and said, "You have never had a Mai Tai? Well, we're going to fix that!" A plan was quickly hatched about how we were all going to review the Thai restaurant around the corner from my apartment. When the evening arrived so did Mr. Izzo with a box of ingredients. He showed me exact instructions of a personalized recipe all his own, then left the box of delictable juices and told me to practice. Which I did. And from that spawned the annual Mai Tai parties. I had to pass on this great treat. And I still do.

Another thing that I learned about Joe was the true beauty behind a good meal. The guy was a food critic. A job he took seriously. It may have been the passion in his soul that made it so much fun. Whatever it was, it was always a good time meeting him out at a restaurant and reviewing it for the benefit of others. Though it was I who lucked out the most. I gave my input on many a review but, easily, the funnest was when Joe, Birk McCandless and myself all went to Michi Sushi for a review. See, this was a favor. I had a good friend, Randy, who had just started as a sushi chef and was really doing some good work behind the bar. Joe said, "Let's review it!" We went down there one evening and sat in the tatime room and were treated like royalty. We ate until our hearts were content, drank with the owner and were rewarded with shirts for our good behavior. Laughs, gags and giggles were exclimated through the night. I don't believe I have ever eaten sushi like that before. Needless to say the review was glowing.

How Joe and I really grew close was through writing. As many of you know, Joe always loved a good rant and was always prepared with one (or ten) in his back pocket ready to light up at a moments notice. When we first started surfing together an email relationship developed. Joe and I would exchange thoughts, ideas, concepts back and forth, but the real bread and butter were the rants. I still have many of these emails, because I hold them dear to my heart. Here is a little sampling of the goods that Joe would spew out:

"I heard that you and the Friar were making music on
Sunday. I cannot reveal my source for this person
remains underground and lost to common hearing
devices. This could be good, or not, depending on what
preceded the session. I expect a full report on all
activities. so does Bob, and your parole officer, who,
by the way, is becoming very suspicious of all
activities in and around your domicile. Friar Leiker
is under the closest scrutiny for his continued
transgressions against the color pink. You could be
soon, but so far, have avoided coming under the eye of
the dead fish."

They were true rants & uniquely Joe. I loved them. Joe was a storyteller. He encourage that in others. He was one of the first persons that heard me play an original tune on the guitar and fell over backwards letting me know that I need to "keep it up." He was a teacher that could light a fire of encouragement to anyone that needed it. In the end he really encouraged himself. Which in my opinion is living. He did this by following through on a life long dream of writing, editing & producing an entire feature length movie with some friends. This kept his mind focused and his soul going.

Uncle Louie was a gift to all of us. Probably three or four edited versions into the movie is when what I realized that Joe was giving us all a gift of Joe. It is filmed at his house, in his town. We journey with him to some of his favorite spots. We see his cars and his friends and his family. We hear his stories and experiences. And if you look really close, you even see a cameo. This is a true gift to anyone who wants to know Joe better. Upon discovering this, I balled like a baby in the middle of my living room. I had discovered what he had done and I was overcome with happiness. It truly is a beautiful thing. And to be a part of it was a real treat.

The Majestic Scribes

The past 365 days were special. We knew by now that he wasn't going to get any better. Joe knew it too and preached it. But he would keep on living. He got heavy into his Mandala's and I cherished our weekday walks for coffee with my daughter, Makenzie. We would shoot the bull and talk about all the great art and aspects of life out there. The trip to Buffalo, New York was the best. I got to see him with his other comrades, the majestic scribes, in which I proudly became their chauffer. Oh the anitcs! They're all individuals that spawned a commmon bond of looking out at that world in a unique way, all the while giving a polite bird to all that were dressed in the color "Pink". This not only let me grow closer to Joe, but the other majestic scribes, Joe Mangelli and R. Allen Russell.

The last time I saw Joe was on December 20, 2011. Two weeks before his journey into the great beyond. He was still trying to work hard on his new screenplay, Peter Knorll. I kept encouraging him (and myself) by asking to get a copy of the script. I told him that I was going to take a first pass at writing some tunes for his new movie. On that day I delivered him a 5 song CD that were the first demo's for the new movie. I figured it was what I could do to show that I was still 100% behind him and his new project even though we all knew that his walk from this earth was near. To quote Joe upon receiving the CD he said, "Chad , you do not know what this does to me. This is like a shot of adreline straight into my arm." It was the least I could do. Along with that he asked for one more favor. I told him the story about my prior visit talking with his wife Lisa upon leaving. She told me about how her Dad used to play the ukulele and she had always wanted to learn. Joe asked if I could get Lisa a Ukulele. I did. And I dropped it off on their doorstep Christmas eve.

Joe will never be forgotten. He was a catalyst of a higher power whom walked this earth with the one intention to make people better people. Who could not love a guy like that?

A morning walk with Joe

In Buffalo, April 2011

Joe & the writer, April 2011 - Buffalo, NY

Grenadine as life.....

2012-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Do you ever think of yourself as the grenadine in the infamous concoction entitled the Mai Tai-?
I do.
No matter when you are put into the arena of the barreled glass, you slowly but surely sink to the bottom.
As your soul filters through the layers of premium juices, you gasp, trying to take in their promised enjoyment. However, to no avail, you sink past the opportunity.
Finally resting on the bottom of the barreled glass.
Here, it is your turn to wait, suffering the tortures of some other rum dum at the opposite end of where you lie, enjoying the premium juices.
Taking them all in as his head gets lighter and lighter with thought and surely fills with slack.
You watch this process, gulp by gulp, at the bottom of the glass.
However you are not stagnant in this procedure.
As the surrounding air temperature heats up the glass, the cold chill of the ice cubes gradually melt diluting your existence.
You are the last to go.
As half your soul gets swallowed, the other half usually gets dumped down the drain taking place amongst a pineapple core and stems of the eaten maraschino cherries.
You are now utterly worthless as someone else has drained your slack.

-Written in an email to Joe Izzo, January 17, 2001

Giving Birth to The Gillbillies || 1978 Les Paul Custom || Old Guitars

2011-12-05T13:02:00.001-08:00

Isn't she a beauty? I mean who has ever seen a custom colored orange Les Paul? Not I. There is some really history behind this babe. If you have ever seen or heard The Gillbillies you know that they are an instrumental act that focuses on the melodic rhythms often found in the 60s era surf music...but with a twist. They are heavy. They have a sound all to their own. And this guitar played a vital role in shaping the way of The Gillbillies ever so sweet tone.

Seeing The Gillbillies "live & in person" is an experience in itself. When talking Gillbillies and guitars you would think that I would writing about one of the Flying V's with Bigsby's (a la Lonnie Mack) that many have seen Jimbo playing out and about the Bay Area. But as Jimbo put it, this is the guitar that gave birth to the Gillbillie sound. "We decided to try an instrumental surf guitar sound and this was the only guitar I had with a tremolo." Hence, the Gillbillies were born.

But there is a lot more to this story. I had seen and admired this guitar being played for quite some time. One day after a jam with Jimbo and Nick I got the real story behind the Orange Custom Les Paul. He had spotted this unique instrument while perusing through the online auction house, eBay (as many of us do who are addicted to the instrument known as the guitar). He checked on the end date and made a mental note to check on it before the auction ended. Life got busy and the auction slipped his mind. Luckily it had ended with out a sale. He sent an email to the seller and asked if he could buy it. A week later he got a reply, "If they don't sell, I get rid of them write away." Jimbo inquired if he could have the dealer's contact info that the guitar was sold to because he really wanted it. "I'll see what I can do." Another week goes by and he finally gets the contact info of the dealer. He calls the dealer and he is told that he sold it a few weeks ago to a music shop in Hollywood (the town of flashy guitars). He asks for the shops info....and the wait continues. On a Sunday night an email comes with the name, address and phone number of the Hollywood shop. Jimbo sets his alarm to call the shop first thing when it opens on Monday morning. 11:05am monday morning rolls around...

Ring, ring...
Music shop employee: How can I help you?
Jimbo: I was wondering if you have a certain guitar in your shop. You will know if right away once I described it to you. It is a 1978 Orange Gibson Les Paul Custom with Bigsby tailpiece.
Music shop employee: Are you shitting me? I literally just hung that guitar on the wall right before we opened.
Jimbo: Please take it off the wall and run this credit card number. I want it.
Music shop employee: Ah man, one of my co-workers is going to be soooo pissed! He loves that guitar. Unfortunately he is over-extended on his store credit and the owner won't let him have any more. He is going to be pissed.

Soon after it was shipped up to Jimbo. The only change that the shop made on it was removing the floating wooden bridge and replacing with the current adjustable one. He did find out that this Les Paul Custom originally came out of the factory polaris white with all nickel hardware (tuners have been updated). Soon after it's first birthday it was painted the beautiful color orange it now possesses along with the addition of the bigsby. The the sound is to die for. But for now just feast your eyes of a few pictures of this rare gem.

And here is a little taste of that tone she puts out....

The Graves Brothers Deluxe || San Malo || Reviewing Vinyl

2011-09-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

The men who form The Graves Brothers Deluxe are living proof that the longer you play as well as study the artform of music, the better you get at it. What we will be taking a look at today is their new LP out on Too Long to Chew Music. On a recent Blogcast I caught the frontman, Stoo Odom, spinning the Tales of how the album came about. It is a story based on an island in swampland East of New Orleans where the oldest living inhabitants from the far east escaped the oppressive Spanish who enslaved them. Traveling across the atlantic in 1740 they lived for 150 years in peace as well as relative obscurity until a hurricane wiped their tribe completely off the map. No Survivors. Fast forward 400 years and Katrina did the same for a lot of residents of the City of New Orleans. When prompted, frontman Stoo shared that the more recent event had a catastrophic effect on his loved ones and he felt a kinship with the story of San Malo. Parallel lines. Events never change, just faces and and numerics. Besides the tales they spin, this album comes in custom orange vinyl decorated with pink and red dots, just like someone threw paint on a wall. A real beauty. Not sure who or what is behind the album artwork, but you guys get an A+ for originality.

Side One:
1.SanMalo National Anthem- Heavy Duty. Let's you know where this album is about to go to. 2.I'm Fine-Chorus is arrogant and awesome. 3.Splinters- Vocal performance is one of the best on the album. Drumming out of this jazzy world. 4.Five Foot Category Five- Primus meets Tom Waits (did I just say that?) The least favorite thing on this side is that little RHCP break. It's not that I don't like the break, its just everything else is off the hook with originality up to this point on the album. 5.Vulture Sing- The Guitar work on this tune is spectacular, and I don't even want to about the tones these guys are getting down. Nice stuff!

Side Two:
1.My Heart Burned Down Today- This second side starts off with a sick and twisted love song.....just waiting for that coming train. It teases you just enough with a sick groove that really comes to life on the second verse. Then dumps you. 2.Papio Paio (The Swamp Ape Again)- We are back into religion. Is it the religion of fast paced chase scenes a la McQueen in bullet? I think so. It builds drama and pace and I might add, is awesome to see live and in person. 3.La Balada De San Malo- Another brilliant number. Short pulsating buzzsaws sung in a foreign language. God dammit! That guitar is so short & repetitive...all the while being too good. The buzz is created through the bass (which is the buzziest instrument in the band). It adds just enough of a pause to build tension and it's littered through out this gem. I wish I could cover this one. 4.Noisy Kind of Nothing- Noiso tales of life on the island of San Malo. 5.Fifty Years Later on the Bayou Skimmer -There is a goat on the album. I keep listening to this song to try to understand the significance of it on the album, to see if there is something I am missing. To the artist it must mean something, however I follow the live rule...would I want to see it performed live and in person. Probably not. Everything else on the album I would and I have. And hopefully I will see it again real soon.

Thumbs Up!

Here is a little live Graves Brothers Deluxe for ya...

Archers of Loaf || Return of Original Music || GAMH 9-2-11

2011-09-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would never be able to say that I had been to an Archers of Loaf show. Why? Because the most original rock band of the last 20 years (before this year) had not played a live show in over 13 years. I thought it was hopeless. Sometime back in April of this year I received a text from the east coast gentlemen who introduced me to their sound. Blue Lang wrote, "Archers of Loaf, September 2nd. Date Night. Get a babysitter." I was pretty stoked to get this message.

They were the biggest influence on my old band, The Booty Chesterfield Trio. Blue and I started jamming in the spring of 2006. As a lot of jams go, you start to bring in your influences. One of the first bands that Blue turned me on to (and that I took and instant liking to) were these guys. I got what he wanted out of the music and tried to transcribe that thought process into original tunes. Hence, the reason for being so influential. More importantly; they rocked. And all I wanted to do is rock too. They are smart punk rock. Their songs are a mixture of built up drama entangled with overwhelmingly powerful hooks. They have a lot of "eek and awnk" chord structures in alternate tunings that you don't hear every day.

I had heard several live recordings of them but nothing to prepare me for the show. Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, Blue did not make the show. He was back home in Florida. As the day of the show approached, like so many other things in life when you age, I was tired and just wanted to have a weekend to relax. Driving up to the City on a Friday night didn't sound too appetizing. But we rallied and made the most of it.

The opening band sucked. I cannot even remember their name. And for the most part I thought the evening was going to suck because the dinner service at the Great American Music Hall. I had always wanted to sit in the "good seats" that got you dinner and a show, but my cheap ass could never pony up to it. I need never do it again. My advice, just get the regular tickets. While the GAMH is one of the best venues to see a small and intimate show in San Francisco, it is not known for the food or the service. And the following statement shall serve as an exclamation point. We had the A grade tickets that night; they gave us the C grade waitress. A terrible management issue by whoever was in charge that night. I believe that she was probably new to the job, probably took a hit out of the bong before showing up to work and was completely off. When it took her 15 minutes to get us a drink from a non-packed upstairs bar (about 30 feet from us) that we were in for it. Then I noticed the only other group there for dinner had completely finished their meal. I walked up to an usher to inquire (our waitress was no where in site). Turns out that she completely forgot to place our order and we finally ate overly salted and peppered cafeteria food about hour and a half after our arrival sitting in the dark through a shitty band. That is the mood that was set. I was ready to go home. My buddy took it upon himself to make sure at least we had cocktails on the house floating into our veins to cool our heated jets. Go for the music; don't go for the food. And never use a cocktail waitress there. Very unreliable for such a small intimate venue.

Now for some action. The Archers came out and completely blew the doors off the non capacity crowd. They played it perfectly, rolling through all the songs that one who was half a fan would want to hear. Even more important; it felt real. It felt like they meant it. They were not here for the money and to sell more Archers CDs, they were here to put on a kick ass live rock and roll show.

A couple of highlights from the show; staring down from the balcony into the crowd with the Archers in full blast off mode I witnessed this swirling pool of middle-aged balding white dudes, many with glasses and plaid shirts, attempting to re-start up that pit again, just like they did back in 1993. But this time with a lot less force. It was cute (for lack of a better term). I saw myself in there at one point in time too. Another highlight was when the Archer's entered into the classic "Low" I heard, check that, we all heard someone shout out "Fuck Yeah! I have been waiting 15 years to hear this song!!!" I think that is how many people felt that night. See, Archers were always an East Coast band. They never had much of an impact on the west coast as let's say, Pavement or someone else from that era. Probably because they didn't tour a lot on the west coast. Maybe two or three times.

So why write about this? I'd like to encourage musicians to understand the real impact that bands make on people. The music never dies. It just keeps on growing. Now, to see it live...that is a whole different story. After Friday night I feel like I was one of the fortunate ones....

Archers Of Loaf "Audiowhore" from christopher Bettig on Vimeo.

Pirate Pat's Lost Treasure || 1976 Black on Black Stratocaster || Old Guitars

2011-09-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

I think I need not mention my love affair with the guitar. If you have read any of my earlier posts it comes across quite evident. When one ages, we tend to acquire more things. From the previous spoken love, I started collecting guitars. The true guitar behind the 1976 stratocaster is actually a 1964 Fender Jaguar.

I love the off-set shape of the jaguar and wanted a vintage one. This preceded me learning the valuable lesson of "never buy a guitar on eBay". I was misled by this online dealer that I decided to attempt to acquire a jaguar from. Vintage City Music out of Lansing, MI sold me an "all original" guitar. Jaguars are known to be complex instruments. When I received it I couldn't figure it out. The bridge pick up seemed dead. I called up Guitar Showcase and they pointed me toward the direction of Mark Brown, whom I am forever indebted to in the guitar buying world. I took the guitar right over to Mark. He told me that the neck had been refinished, possible fret job, new reproduction tuners and the neck pick up needed to be rewound. All in all about $700 worth of work to get it up to snuff. I said, "ah, I got ripped off" and Mark so eloquently replied, "How much did you pay for this guitar? $2500. You didn't get ripped off, with the work you would have a $3200 guitar, about the price of a vintage jaguar in good condition." I love his thought philosophy.

The jaguar story does have a good ending. They had a 24 hr. return policy, and honored it as "24 hr. business days" and took the guitar back with me paying the shipping. Now I had cash burning a whole in my pocket.

60s Smugglin' Pat

The cosmos must of aligned wanting me to have, our family friend, Pat Ryan's 1976 black stratocaster. I met Pat through my uncle Craig. This guy was a real character; boisterous laugh and parrot on his shoulder. Pat had a rough go at the end of his life. He lost his wife, Carol, from a obscure ailment and this sent him into an unfortunate tailspin. He couldn't hold down a job leading to a depressed & broke dude. He stated it was his buddhist teachings that made him want to get rid of all of his prized possessions and live a simple life. Looking back on it now and think he was just preparing for the ending. Unfortunately Pat took his own life at the age of 58.

80s Jammin' (note Blackie in the background)

Before the end, he approached me about buying his 1976 Black on Black Stratocaster. It was in good shape with just the tuners being changed. He wanted $1900 for it. I was flush with the return cash of the jaguar. I wanted a vintage instrument and the opportunity to try and help a buddy out. I did give him the caveat that if he ever wanted his Strat back, I would give it to him for the money I paid. He said he would not be wanting it back. An unfortunate truth. This is the story of how I am in possession of a beautiful 1976 Stratocaster. He said he bought it because David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame played one. But he said he never played it that much because he was much more of a Gibson man. I understood this philosophy because I am more of the opposite. I love Fender guitars. And this one was a beauty, right down to the instruction manual and extra springs. I did have Mark Brown set it up for me and the tone pots needed replacing and I also had him put back on the original tuners. It plays and looks great. See for yourself...

And this is how it sounds......

Patrick Joseph Ryan 1951-2009

Zombie(fied) in San Francisco || Compliments of Mr. Santos || 2011 Summer Drink Series

2011-08-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Summer Drink Series continues on as I headed up last Friday to visit a "Brethren in Rums" at the Bernal Tiki Refuge lodged deep within the San Francisco underground. Christian Santos has been a fan of the "Tiki" and all it inspires ever since the little kid discovered his family roots were firmly footed on the isle Guam. His passion really took off during his early twenties when his kitschy American roots took control and combined the two that make one, Mr. Santos.

Christian and I get together every so often to share thrift store adventures as well as to trade new concoction ideas at one of our bars. He has been known for serving up quite a delectable drink from time to time. He has the classic Mai Tai down as well as the Polihale Punch that he came up with. However, this summer Christian has really been working on his Zombie skill. See, the Zombie was invented by Don the Beachcomber as one of the original slew of tiki drinks, but also turned out to be one of the most potent. If you ever want to perform a test on someone to see if they truly understand Tiki bars & Rum drinks, a simple question to ask is "(by overall majority) what is the most potent Tropical Drink?" You guessed it, The Zombie. Let's enjoy the true strategic alliance of liquids while making this drink...

SPECIAL NOTE: This recipe really is one of its own and only real connection to the original is rum and the ass-kicking potential this potent beast will pack. Warning: Please do not drink more than two of these drinks. I have no liability, responsibility, inquiry, contrary and illusionary dreams that you people will be able to party all night with these drinks. This drink is a perfect "Starters" drink to a "big night out". Stick to beer or a pepsi after you slurp down a Zombie. Now let's get to the creation part....

Fill a Pint Glass 2/3 to the top with cubed ice. Fill a Shaker with the other third

3/4 shot of Fresh Lime Juice

Put One shot of barcadi

One shot of Trader Vic's Dark Rum

One shot of Pineapple Juice (the fresher the better!)

One shot of Passion Fruit Mix

One shot of Orange Juice (the fresh rule applies here too)

Half a shot of Apricot Brandy

2 dashes of Bitters

Shake rigorously for 15 seconds

Then take the top off the shaker and strain into Pint glass. Now add one more dash of bitters on the top (for olfactory effect). Now, if you only have one of these drinks, treat yourself to a called for floater of Barcadi 151 on the top. We were opted to not add it due to trial process during filming.

Garnish with A fresh mint sprig and skewered chunks of Pineapple and enjoy!

I would personally like to thank the purveyours of The Bernal Tiki Refuge for their kind hospitality. Thank you Christian and Kristy!

Victor || The Film Dude in San Jose || circa 2007

2011-06-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Inspiration is the reason we breath. So when one writes a song they can only look as far as the air that they are breathing. The small, subtle music scene in downtown San Jose back 2007 was part of my muse. There was one character that always stood out; a guy named Victor. You could spot him pretty clearly, a man of short stature with no hair on top, glasses and mustache. He did not try to fit in because he couldn't. I love Victor for that. Most important, there was a freshness toward music that he took in. It was very inspiring.

I met Victor at the Caravan one night back in 2007 and I got as much of his story that he would divulge to a complete stranger on some random night. He was videotaping some band (usually with a women in it) and I started talking to him. He told me that he just does it for kicks. Bands don't pay him. He doesn't really promote it. Had barely even heard of Youtube back then and just loved to tape the performances of bands he liked. I asked him if he'd seen our band and he replied yeah, "I saw you guys at Johnny V's back in January. There was supposed to be some surf band from Spain you were opening up for but they didn't show. I thought you guys really rocked. I was bummed my battery ran out on the first band." I told him when we were playing next and he showed and caught on tape some classic original "The Booty Cheterfield Trio" footage with Pickle on bass and Blue on drums. One of our best performances at the time with full comedic routine and one, Joe Izzo, out in the crowd giving away T-Shirts. Here are some highlights I decide to put up on Youtube:

This one is some recently uploaded old footage that Film Dude recorded for us back in 2008. Recollecting back, it was a really fun night with a pretty full bar.

This is a portion of the song we wrote for Film Dude Victor. We wanted to right a straightforward punk rock song that typified his attitude toward live rock and roll. You can find a version of it on our first album, Sellin' Cookies.

And this last one is my favorite. At about 10 seconds into the clip, the video pans around and you can see Film Dude Victor sporting a Booty Chesterfield T-shirt and dancing like nobodies business to the tunes. What else can I say? Like is about having fun....and FDV is doing just that!

U2 || Even Better than an Ankle Sprang || Oakland June 7, 2011

2011-06-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

I had seen this thing coming down the pipeline before. For me the last experience like this was the night I got backstage all, access passes to see The Rolling Stones "Bridges to Babylon Tour" in 1997. So I knew what to expect. The likeness of a gifted gem of one more childhood Christmas Eve or a highly anticipated trip to Disneyland as a young lad. I was prepped and ready for it.

See a good friend has a certain family member that happens to be a founder of Elevation Partners, the famous "dream team" of venture capital firms that happens to include Bono. So I knew that U2 was coming and that they would probably have pretty good seats. I planted the seed, "Ya know, sometimes people fall off the bus at the very last moment. If anyone cannot make the show at the last minute I want to let you know that I am available." At 9:30pm the night before I got the call. "We have an extra ticket." Bingo. I am in!

I shifted my day to an early office close and headed up to the pre-party in Atherton. Cold beer and good food all within the backdrop of a beautiful private estate. Unfortunately Bono couldn't make it, I think he was donating his time at the local children's hospital before the show (not really). Either way we prepped up for the big night with food and booze then climbed aboard the luxury liner bus and made the 3 hour jaunt over to Oakland. Yes, you heard me correctly. It took 3 hours to go 40 miles. There was a massive traffic jam trying to get to the coliseum and we never even made the bus ride into the coliseum parking lot. We got out and hoofed it for about four blocks. And we were the lucky ones getting in about 9:30pm just in time to see the lights go down. We heard later that some people didn't even make it to their seats until about 11pm.

We got to our seats, which by all standard we definitely corporate. They were close enough to be "really good seats", but for a true music fan they were nothing to write home about. That was until I got a "red zone" pass slapped around my neck. My friend and I proceeded to walk right on up to the stage. This is what we saw....

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Vertigo

Bono Serenading the Crowd

All and all a great show. They kicked off with "Even Better Than the Real Thing", which was my personal motto pre-show because, I felt like I was a little kid on his way to Disneyland. It was like I was dreaming the whole time, this unexpected fortunate experience that was bestowed upon me. The stand out numbers were "I Will Follow", Bowie's "Space Oddity" going into "Pride". I personally enjoy "Vertigo" as well as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and I was happy that the video came out so well.

If you think about it U2 is amazing. Not only are they still the same four guys rocking in a rock band the way we all wish we could, they have been doing it for 30 years. Any fan who has a love for live rock 'n' roll can attest to U2's incredible staying power to continuously put on a great show with just four members (along with a hidden keyboardist under the stage, they have been doing that for years). I referred to the Rolling Stones show that I saw back in 1997 and "yes" it was a great show. And "yes" they are one of my favorite bands of all time, but still they came with full horn section, back up singers, percussion, keyboards and god only knows who else was on the stage. So to see a stripped down 4 piece rock a crowd of 69,000 people was a sight to be seen. And then there was the light show......hats off, men.

The Perfect Mai Tai || Compliments of Joe Izzo

2011-05-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Is summer here yet? It feels like we have not kicked into high gear in regards to the summertime weather. In an effort mentally take us there a little sooner I would like to pass on my favorite Mai Tai recipe and encourage other to try it out and enjoy the beginnings of the ever-so-pleasant time of year.

When this drink first came into my existence its concoctions were so potent that it brought down divine forces keeping me out of a head on collision. Back in '98 I used to get up around quarter to six in the morning, grab my 9 foot surfboard and strap it to the top of a '78 Grand Marquis paneled station wagon and head over the hill to Santa Cruz with my venerable Uncle Craig and one, Joe Izzo. Joe is a peculiar fellow and this was the beginning of our friendship. I didn't really know what to expect from the guy. It was all summed up in one experience; in the makings of a Mai Tai. We had just peeked over the hill on the 17 heading for a pleasant day of surf. The topic started off with Mint Julips and quickly drifted onto the Mai Tai. That is when I blurted out from the back seat that I had never had a Mai Tai. Joe shoulders and head turned 180 degrees facing me head on and said, "you have never had a Mai Tai? We need to fix that problem."

The next week we booked a reservation at a Thai restaurant close to my apartment. Joe was reviewing restaurants for The Metro Newspaper at the time. A nice friend to have. Joe showed up with a whole box of ingredients and mixed up a batch of heaven for a couple of friends before heading out to Siam Square. I had never tasted, felt & fully enjoyed so much pleasure in a beverage before. I devoted a will to perfect this drink. I think I have you tell me. This is how you make it:

First off, you need to get yourself a 16oz. barrel glass. I recommend going to Hula's in Downtown Santa Cruz and picking up a couple with their logo's on them. They are pretty cool and it is always a good memory buying a tiki glass or mug. Fill it with cubed ice. First put in about 2oz. of Barcadi White Rum.

Then add about an ounce of O.J. and an ounce of pineapple juice.

Then add just a splash of Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix.

Then add in a half of ounce of Grenadine, nice and slow so it goes to the bottom and separates away from the mixed juices.
Then add a nice hefty floater of Myer's Dark rum.
Garnish with a skewer of pineapple with cherry and umbrella of top.

And with a short bendy straw if you got one. They look beautiful with the three separate layers. For the rookies and the non-regulars and recommend a good stir after you are done enjoying the scenery. Personally, I like sipping on the dark rum floating around on top.

Let me know if you have any successes or suggestions when mixing up this drink. Enjoy!

Heather David || Passion Among the Decay || Mid-Century by the Bay

2011-05-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

I first met Heather David while perusing the world wide web looking for artistic inspiration for the first Booty Chesterfield album, Sellin’ Cookies. I wanted to have something local. Being a fan of mid-century architecture and advertising, I googled (via images) the Western Motel on El Camino. Up pops a beautifully taken picture of the sign half lit as dusk begins to claim the day. Following the picture I came upon the modest site SV Modern. Someone was documenting all the untold beauty of Silicon Valley’s past? On the spot I wrote this person an email passionately thanking them for documenting our past. And if you know Heather, I received an even-more-impassioned email back thanking me for having interest in something close to her heart as well as an invite to lunch at the former Bob’s Big Boy (now flames) on Winchester Blvd. I had to meet this person.

Heather is an intense individual who knows what she likes and the things she likes are becoming rarer and rarer. During that first lunch at the Flames and she went on about local mid-century architects & designers most who's names I had never heard. I had always considered myself “educated” in the realm of mid-century design. I was dead wrong, especially when it came to local knowledge. “Geez, Heather, you should write a book.” Her retort, “I am.”

After several years of research and a big chunk of her retirement savings spun into hardcopy, she self-released, Mid-Century by the Bay. This is the reference book for Bay Area mid-century. It goes beyond just "cool" pictures. The author has done her homework and tells a tale of mass growth, prosperity & expansion during this Bay Area time period. I was privileged enough to see several drafts of the book while she was in the process. Let me tell you, when I received my hardback copy I was literally blown away by the final results. Heather is very particular. Initially she struggled getting her vision to conform to a hard copy. Pushing her dream along of publishing an undocumented history of Mid-Century Design she has fully achieved success with this book. I believe this book is going to a wonderful reference guide for the future bay area architects whom have yet to become established. And, no doubt, this book will be sitting on the shelves of many future designers too.

One of the key ingredients in this book is the work of Arnold Del Carlo. Mr. Del Carlo was a San Jose based professional commercial photographer for nearly 40 years. And as Heather states it, “who successfully captured the evolution of the Santa Clara Valley from the ‘Valley of Hearts Delight’ to ‘Silicon Valley’.” There is an even better story behind this commercial lens. He basically was an “unknown” in the eyes of the preservationists of the Bay Area. His eye-catching visuals of shopping center grand openings and new bowling alleys sat in a box in his garage for 30+ years collecting dust. He just happened to have the luck of having Heather move into his neighborhood. After a chance discovery of his vintage portfolio, she went nuts with determination to make sure that the world had a chance to see this man’s work. Mid-Century by the Bay is besieged with beautiful, full page Del Carlo images. These are my personal favorites. An important footnote that in this process Heather had an integral part in making sure these photos were preserved. The Sourisseau Academy at SJSU acquired the entire portfolio.

Even though this book is about Bay Area architecture & design in the mid-century, it is south bay centric. This is in part due to the massive transformation of growth through out the valley making it become the technology center of the world. If you think that Silicon Valley started with the micro chip, semiconductor, and internet I encourage you to find out a little bit more about the roots behind this developing valley and never forget the past. In regards to cutting edge architecture and design for the times, Heather David’s book is a really good starting point.

For more information about the book, go here: Calmodbooks.com

And if you want more, she has a wonderful Flickr website!

What Happens to Pickle's First Love? || '82 CAR Fender Stratocaster '62 reissue || Old Guitars

2011-04-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

I love old guitars. New guitars have no soul...yet. But old guitars tell stories. They tell tales of old smoke-filled dive bars with remnants of beer splattering encased in between rusty screws and beat up pick ups. They have performed. And that is the reason why we love instruments so much; it is in their performance. So give me the most beat up ugly guitar and that is a guitar that has been truly loved by an owner. It is the 30 year old guitars in pristine condition that scare me. If that guitar sat around and wasn't played, that's telling me something. That is the story of a guitar that never found the right tone for someone.

This brings me to Sweet Pickle's (aka Mr. Laflen to some, key axe wielder in Them Slack Jawed Sons of Bitches as well as life-long member of The Ex-Old Ladies) 1982 Candy Apple Red AVRI '62 Stratocaster. No one sees this guitar much lately, but I am lucky enough to currently have it on loan and in my possession. For that reason I decided to snap some pictures of this beauty and tell it's tale via Sweet P.

This guitar, 1982 Candy apple red Fullerton reissue strat, was my main axe with my old bands in the 90's, The Lowdown(funk-rock) , Big Joe(alt-country), the Money Shot and SpaceFish(hippy Jam band). I have some great pics somewhere.

So I purchased this guitar somewhere in the mid-90's. A time I refer to when I was in Tucson as 'the lost weekend'.

I had a fullerton black maple necked reissue stolen from my house in the Sam Hughes district near the University of AZ. I loved that guitar and I was crushed to come home and find it missing. My band practiced in the house so it was easy for the wolves to figure out there was an electric guitar to be had. I came home to find the input jack of the guitar still attached to the cord meaning they grabbed my guitar and literally ran out the back door with it. The only thing left was the jack of the guitar as a memory of my own blackie. No insurance. So... I looked in our weekly paper and in the newspaper and found a Red reissue strat for sale for 550 bucks. The guy was freshly married and clearly on a new path. He pulled the perfect condition strat literally from under the bed where it was stored. I played it and new it'd be the one. I think I ended up paying 500 but can't recall. We were both happy with the deal. I still do not recall how I got the money for this guitar back then as I was as poor as everyone else with pickup jobs and par-time work while I was going to school.

I primarily used this guitar with a 4-10 bassman, vintage rat pedal, cs-9 chorus and Boss DD-2 delay. It served me well and the neck pickup is amazing.

That is the story on this beauty, now let's look at some pictures of this true relic. And next time, you see him on stage make sure to ask Pickle where the hell is the red strat!

The Ukulele, Me and The Making of Uncle Louie

2011-03-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have had a longtime relationship with the Ukulele. Sometimes it just sat in the corner of the room collecting dust while getting the occasional strum from a guest. Other times it assisted in serenading my future wife by asking for her hand in marriage. Either way, it has always been there for me and my heartfelt love for the flea-sized instrument only continues to grow.
The first time I got my hands on a uke was during my college years. I was driving away from Scott Guild's house on a summer visit and his mother yells to me, "we need to get rid of some of this junk for our move. Do you want any of these instruments?" I took an old, beat up uke and a violin. The uke was cracked but it still worked. I gave it to my brother for a short while. After college I noted it was just sitting on the shelf at his house, so I decided to fix it and learn to play a few songs. Taking it into the shop, I discovered it was a Martin Soprano Ukulele from the early 50s and was worth some money. I spent about $70 to have it repaired and I also bought a nice case for it. I learned to strum it a bit, still just a minimal ditty was the only life it saw. I decided it would be better fit in a collectors hands and I sold it (something to this day I regret. pic below).

A few years passed before my next encounter. This happened when I met Paul Berry. He is a longtime friend of my Uncle Craig’s. His family is from the Islands. In 1969, Paul and my uncle went to Waikiki to visit Paul’s family. At the end of the trip, one of Paul’s cousins raided another relative’s trinket shop and gave the young men a bunch of souvenirs to take back to the mainland. Among the booty were two very nice Kamaka ukuleles that my uncle still owns. Paul borrowed the Tenor Kamaka for 20 years and became really, really good on it. He learned all the hawaiian classic songs. When I moved down to the south bay area I was considered “family” and now the invitation was extended to me to join in on all of Paul’s families Luau’s and Pig Roast. This is where I saw first hand how two corporate businessmen could capture the hearts of an audience with these tiny little instruments. From that initial experience, I started to learn to play the ukulele. It became a lot easier to learn when my Mom and Dad picked one up in Hawaii as a birthday gift. I finally had my own ukulele, again.

(Uncle Craig's pair of Vintage Kamaka Ukuleles)

As we grow older, we have to learn to go with our strengths and rocking all night in a dive bar can take a toll on the body. Needless to say, the ukulele is a great instrument to have lying around, pick up every once in a while and strum a tune. But it has done more to me. It captured my soul on the day my daughter way born. I left the hospital early morning to run home for supplies. It was a beautiful day in May of 2009. I flipped on the radio and the IZ version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” had come on the radio. Tears instantly came to my eyes as I heard the strumming of those short nylon strings. I told myself I was going to pick up that uke my parents bought me a few years back and learn that song.
I did learn that song and several others. Having a newborn baby sleeping in the other room inhibits your ability to pick up a guitar but not your ability to pick up a ukulele. I used this time to learn several renditions of my favorite songs on Ukulele. One day, in the fall of 2009, I was working out an arrangement of the Dean Martin classic, “That’s Amore”. A good friend had called and asked if I would do some music for an independent feature length movie him and his friends were making. Of course I would. When he told me he wanted something soft, dark and moody but with a little Italian flair I knew I had the right song for him. Below is a video of That’s Amore for the Film Uncle Louie. I was able to sneak one other uke song into the movie too. It is a version of Guy Lombardo’s “Enjoy Yourself (it’s later than you think)”. I continue to strum the ukulele. It’s cheap, portable and always brings a smile to my face.

Here is a video of "That's Amore" on Ukukele

The end

Building a Custom Guitar

2011-02-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

The guitar has been a big part of my life. Some of my earliest memories were my Dad strumming a beat up six string on our ugly green couch on Saturday mornings along with the likes of Jimmy Buffet and Jackson Browne. The instrument captured my imagination and it has been a big part of my life ever since. Last year I traded a Les Paul for a Fender AVRI '52 Telecaster. I had always wanted a tele and the LP I had just never played right. It was a beautiful guitar; it just didn't speak to me. Along with the trade the gentleman has swapped out all the electronics for "boutique parts". I decided that I wanted a Tele that sounded like a '52 Tele so I swapped all the parts back. I was planning on selling the parts on Craiglist. Then my father came over. He picked up the '52 and gave it a strum and said, "oh, this feels so good and sounds so nice" all while a big grin developed on his mug. I decided then and there to give him the guitar. I had several electric guitars and this man of 61 years had never owned an electric guitar.

It's now his, but I still wanted a Telecaster. I decided I would build one with the left over electronics. I bought a used Fender Highway One Telecaster Body in flat black off eBay. I bought some sonic blue paint off ReRanch and painted that body a nice 50s color in my shed. I really wanted this to be a family project so I asked if my brother (who's an artist that goes by the name of Mateo)to custom paint me the body. We settled on a price and I happened to take the freshly painted body up to Pullman, WA when I went up to attend opening night his first solo exhibit last May at WSU. While there we talked about ideas, concepts, etc. I really wanted to have him experiment with it. Then he showed me a sketch of a kid on a bicycle riding through an old 50s neighborhood with cap guns 'a blarin'. I said, "That's how I feel". We agreed this was to be the theme.

Meanwhile I bought a Warmoth Jazzmaster neck with a modern radius (thanks Spike, I love it). I refinished the neck with the advice coming from a great woodworker, named Dennis. I learned a lot about not buying stains and lacquers from Home Depot. Then I waited. And waited. Art takes time and my brother is an artist. When I finally received the body, it blew away expectations.

Assembling the guitar was achieved all the while holding my breath. I am not great at soldering electronics. I did have to take it apart a few times for pickup adjustment and to knock out a hum it had. Once that badboy was grounded it sang great. I believe it just slide into the number one position in my collection.

Here is how it sounds:

...and...parts is parts:
Body purchased on eBay

Neck after applying stain and finish

Also, note the package of tuners on the couch. While mounting those on the neck I did smash my left index finger with a mallet. I do not recommend doing this. It hurt like hell.

Body painted Sonic Blue. The flash really weirded out the color.

Finished Product

Here is Dad on the Green Couch Strumming a Guitar

Here is Dad on someone else's couch strumming a guitar. I am the kid on the couch and my brother is on the floor

Here is my Brother on the Green Couch. Look how ugly it is! Note: Guitar really close to the Green Couch

And one comical one of Ronnie Bahama just for laughs. Never shy to ham it up for the camera!

Best Coast & Wavves show last night at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, CA

2011-02-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

This old man made it out to the new young sound movement known as California Noise Pop last night at the Regency Ballroom. I have been to many shows in SF but this was the first one at the Regency. I do have to say that the it is a nice place to see a show. Good sound and intimate enough to feel like you are seeing something meaningful, if the music is good enough.

First off, the late 80s/early 90s are back with a vengeance. Tights with shorts were the standard uniform for the women while the guys stuck to mustaches, top siders and tight pants. All adorned with non-colorful heavy lined tattoos. Also, women wearing my Mom's old big eyeglasses and shoulderpads got an extra two points of coolness. This looks like its the uniforms of the kids today. I guess if you have never worn it, might as well give it a go (and look back and laugh at yourself years later). Now to the music....

Wavves. Okay these guys have been getting a lot of buzz. I do have to say they played a tight set, with several mediocre finishes. I found the set to be entertaining. They can be described, in my opinion, in one simple phrase: Nirvana with Reverb with the Violent Femmes lead singer drumming up the banter. Now that's original, right? I would say over half the set sounded like they were playing the same stooges song. However there were a few standout numbers and they started with "this is a new one". If they can bear the strains of being in a band and being famous, as they mature they should be able to turn out some good music in the future. I'll keep a watch...

Best Coast. I cannot say much, besides they totally skyrocketed past all my expectations. The vocals pumping out of the P/A were astonishing. I have given their latest release many a spin, but I wasn't fully sold on the band until seeing them live. Bob Bruno; I bow to you. That Danelectro baritone guitar you ripped was outstanding. The tones coming out were true originals. I feel that the album is soaked in reverb, Bob's Bass is soaked in reverb, but the lead vox shines through and punched the audience in the face with love. They blew doors on Wavves. I eagerly wait to see them again as well as see what they can pull off in the studio as they mature.

Enjoy!

The Music Studio

2011-02-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Ah, where creation is born...

In the past 5 years since it was built there have been over 75 original songs recorded in it, 3 full length albums, 1 ep, and a puppet show soundtrack (no foolin), as well as a live jam room for anybody who wanted to play music. When it was first constructed by myself and my soon-to-be brother in law, the late Tony Nelson Bapista, my main goal was to let anyone who ever wanted to play any type of music come by and play. I believe it has fully achieved it's objective. As well as given me very special memories with relatives and friends. And I was actually able to get a band together out of it. For that I have to thank the following people; Tony Baptista, Blue Lang, Steve Laflen, Jeff Okubo, Johnny Kirk, Rick Silverstri, Spencer Grau, Jon Luttrell and last but not least, my neighbors with special consideration for the Villalobos family who's bedroom window is about 30 feet away and they have never complain once. Best neighbors ever? In my opinion, Yes!

The Studio is not going away. I just want to document it for what it is in this moment in time. I am making some changes inside it. Call it "redecorating" or just reorganizing. It will still be a recording studio and The Booty Chesterfield Trio shall still exist, but things change and change is good. Hopefully it will inspire a new era in the creative process. Please enjoy the pix.

Here is a before shot:

And and after shot:

One of my "old school" influences growing up and searching for music...

2011-02-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

Growing up around music was the way I came out of the womb. My brother, sister and I rocked on the family room couch from as early as I could remember to my father's record collection. Early on in life I had The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffet, John Prine, J.J. Cale and Fleetwood Mac embedded into my system. As a pre-teen I began to explore other types of music. Mainly whatever my friends older brothers were into. This is what I dubbed my "Heavy Metal Years". The likes of Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, etc. were tattooed all over my middle-school book covers. As I got into high school frequent trips to Berkeley were a routine procedure. On one of those trips I picked up "Cinema Verite" by Dramarama. I heard the hit "Anything, Anything" on Live 105 (KITS), but what I discovered with that purchase was a little more. True Rock and Roll was alive and well; a freshly packaged nugget buried in the mid-eighties synth-soaked MTV/NightTracks world. I promptly went out and bought their sophomore effort Box Office Bomb. I played these records incessantly. One of my favorite tracks was "It's still warm" on Box Office... It screams California. Here is a recent live sample...

In 1989 they came out with their properly released 3rd album, "Stuck in Wonderamaland". My brother and I journey down to the Cactus Club in San Jose, CA on a cold, December night the following year to catch their live show. When they came on stage I thought the lead singer/main songwriter, John Easedale was drunk because he was kind of stumbling around the stage. Then the music started. 90 minutes of pure rock and roll. This was the best concert I had been to yet, and that was just coming off seeing Jane's Addiction, The Pixies & Primus on one bill in SF just two weeks earlier.

Dramarama gave me my first true "discovery". It was like finding a new best friend. My Dad's friend, The Rolling Stones, was great and all, but as a young kid you are searching to define yourself. Dramarama did it for me. They are still one of my favorite bands. They have a wonderful catalog of great records. And they still, occasionally play today. Go see them and support good music.