just saw a commercial for the remake of a nightmare on elm street, and saw a close up of freddy kruger. it was just a brief shot, but i thought, 'that's rorschach from the watchmen.'
a few clicks on the keyboard over to imdb, and yep, i was right.
i didn't realize that he was in shutter island, a film i enjoyed.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
surprise show review
yesterday i received a text and also saw a facebook post that rademacher was doing a surprise show at tokyo garden with the band mad happy. i'd never heard of mad happy, but thought i'd go because it would be rademacher's first show back as a four piece. that's right, last show they were a new three piece featuring r.c. on bass, and now they're a four piece with r.c. on bass, eli on drums, johnathan hadden (back from n.y. & in the band) on rhythm guitar and malcalm sosa on lead guitar and vocals.
i knew it would be a small show, and did my best to spread the word a little via text and twitter. two friends decided to join me and i headed off to the show.
so, as mad happy sound checking, one of my friends was saying how he bought their cd the last time they were in town. he admitted he was a little "influenced" at the time, and we were giving him a hard time about his purchase. by the end of their set i was considering a cd myself, although i abstained. but here are some thoughts i jotted down last night:
- secret surprise show = no people
- strange band fresno people don't know = no people
seriously, mad happy had one fan there. there was me & my two friends. there was one guy sitting at the bar. three other people came in later. seven people for two bands.
- mad happy was a little too demanding during sound check. i know, you want your monitors right, but they guy just seemed a little primadonna-ish
- bring your own fans. really, we wondered after the show when it was planned. mad happy basically drives around the country in a car with their baby and their dog. so, i'm sure they get in touch with people and set up shows, but they've got to have some network of fans.
- very fun stage presence. they're a two piece, and the guy is just dancing and flying all around the stage. the girl might've been more animated, but she had her baby in a frontpack.
- that's right, there was a baby. on stage. with headphones. the baby with headphones was a pretty funny touch, especially when we called them earmuffs during a song that was littered with f bombs.
- since most everyone was city at the bar, the band made a joke that we were at an anti-bar-mitzveh. a mitzveh being a blessing, a barmitzveh being a party to celebrate, i guess he didn't feel we were having enough fun. but we were.
- music was cool. it had a jewish feel, with hip hop harmonies. really, the vocal interplay of the two was dope.
- the said they would trade green for a cd. not green paper, but green. they also said they'd trade green paper for cd's as well.
- i never would have expected that i was coming to a jewish hippy hip hop show when i left the house tonight.
----------
- rock-a-macher showed up tonight.
- the sound was very tight. reintroduction of john hadden wasn't a problem at all, even with just 1 practice as a four piece.
- mike on lead guitar = good!
check out the song i bootlegged that inspired the previous comment. it's called charles.
- r.c. on backing/shouted vocals is super nice
- sounding the best i've heard in quite some time
- when jonathan was in the band before he was the only one playing guitar, and i think this limited him. with mike on guitar as well, hadden was able to play with more flare tonight and it was cool.
- the show ended up being basically a trial run/band practice for rademacher's upcoming weekend shows (cellar door in visalia, the smell in los angeles)
have another bootlegged song if you got some magic.
hey, i had a good time last night. it was only $3, and it felt like a private show.
i knew it would be a small show, and did my best to spread the word a little via text and twitter. two friends decided to join me and i headed off to the show.
so, as mad happy sound checking, one of my friends was saying how he bought their cd the last time they were in town. he admitted he was a little "influenced" at the time, and we were giving him a hard time about his purchase. by the end of their set i was considering a cd myself, although i abstained. but here are some thoughts i jotted down last night:
- secret surprise show = no people
- strange band fresno people don't know = no people
seriously, mad happy had one fan there. there was me & my two friends. there was one guy sitting at the bar. three other people came in later. seven people for two bands.
- mad happy was a little too demanding during sound check. i know, you want your monitors right, but they guy just seemed a little primadonna-ish
- bring your own fans. really, we wondered after the show when it was planned. mad happy basically drives around the country in a car with their baby and their dog. so, i'm sure they get in touch with people and set up shows, but they've got to have some network of fans.
- very fun stage presence. they're a two piece, and the guy is just dancing and flying all around the stage. the girl might've been more animated, but she had her baby in a frontpack.
- that's right, there was a baby. on stage. with headphones. the baby with headphones was a pretty funny touch, especially when we called them earmuffs during a song that was littered with f bombs.
- since most everyone was city at the bar, the band made a joke that we were at an anti-bar-mitzveh. a mitzveh being a blessing, a barmitzveh being a party to celebrate, i guess he didn't feel we were having enough fun. but we were.
- music was cool. it had a jewish feel, with hip hop harmonies. really, the vocal interplay of the two was dope.
- the said they would trade green for a cd. not green paper, but green. they also said they'd trade green paper for cd's as well.
- i never would have expected that i was coming to a jewish hippy hip hop show when i left the house tonight.
----------
- rock-a-macher showed up tonight.
- the sound was very tight. reintroduction of john hadden wasn't a problem at all, even with just 1 practice as a four piece.
- mike on lead guitar = good!
check out the song i bootlegged that inspired the previous comment. it's called charles.
- r.c. on backing/shouted vocals is super nice
- sounding the best i've heard in quite some time
- when jonathan was in the band before he was the only one playing guitar, and i think this limited him. with mike on guitar as well, hadden was able to play with more flare tonight and it was cool.
- the show ended up being basically a trial run/band practice for rademacher's upcoming weekend shows (cellar door in visalia, the smell in los angeles)
have another bootlegged song if you got some magic.
hey, i had a good time last night. it was only $3, and it felt like a private show.
parsley cafe
if you read enough of my reviews you'll see i like: 1) local business; 2) downtown business; 3) fulton mall. knowing these things, it pains me somewhat to write a poor review of one of those things.
i rode my bike downtown to pick up some grizzlies tickets for tonight's game and figured i'd grab some lunch as well before heading home. i was riding down the mall and saw the parsley cafe. i remember it from my trips to milano's pizza (r.i.p.) and thought i'd grab lunch. they had a cheeseburger lunch special for $4.75, which is a nice price.
the cheeseburger - nothing special basic store bought patty, basic cheese, basic bun. the lettuce was nice. it's not that the burger was bad, it just wasn't anything.
the fries - frozen fries fresh outta the fryer. basic shoestrings.
what really bugged me about the experience - watery ketchup. seriously, i shook up the squeeze ketchup bottle and went to put some on my burger. water comes flying out first. this wasn't just the separated water that goes into the ketchup when you shake it. extra water. so, i put some watery ketchup on my burger and shook it up more before putting some on my plate for the fries. still watery. and, it was so watered down that it was flavorless. really bummed me out.
hey, it was cheap and quick, and just okay.
Parsley Garden Cafe
1237 Fulton Mall
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 485-8995
Fax: (559) 485-8995
i rode my bike downtown to pick up some grizzlies tickets for tonight's game and figured i'd grab some lunch as well before heading home. i was riding down the mall and saw the parsley cafe. i remember it from my trips to milano's pizza (r.i.p.) and thought i'd grab lunch. they had a cheeseburger lunch special for $4.75, which is a nice price.
the cheeseburger - nothing special basic store bought patty, basic cheese, basic bun. the lettuce was nice. it's not that the burger was bad, it just wasn't anything.
the fries - frozen fries fresh outta the fryer. basic shoestrings.
what really bugged me about the experience - watery ketchup. seriously, i shook up the squeeze ketchup bottle and went to put some on my burger. water comes flying out first. this wasn't just the separated water that goes into the ketchup when you shake it. extra water. so, i put some watery ketchup on my burger and shook it up more before putting some on my plate for the fries. still watery. and, it was so watered down that it was flavorless. really bummed me out.
hey, it was cheap and quick, and just okay.
Parsley Garden Cafe
1237 Fulton Mall
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 485-8995
Fax: (559) 485-8995
Thursday, April 15, 2010
foursquare cops
i'm not too sure about this foursquare deal, although malcolm sosa of rademacher did make some interesting points on why i should use it the other night. but, i'm not going to tell you those.
just enjoy this witty video
just enjoy this witty video
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
scallop lunch
i was at fresh and easy on monday doing some grocery shopping and i saw that they had a package of scallops on reduced price. you know, the whole sell by date thing. i enjoy eating scallops, but have never cooked them before and decided that this would be the time.
i had a few days to decide on a recipe, but also wanted to go with something somewhat basic to allow the scallops' own flavor to be dominant. i settled with salt & pepper sauteed in butter with a little bit of garlic.
scallops are surprisingly easy to cook. basically, you allow the butter to melt and and brown and then drop in the scallops. allow them to cook for two to three minutes, and then turn them over. cooks for another two to three minutes and your done.
the scallops turned out great. at that time they're a sort of medium done-ness and aren't rubbery or too stringy. and the simple seasoning worked out nicely.
i had a few days to decide on a recipe, but also wanted to go with something somewhat basic to allow the scallops' own flavor to be dominant. i settled with salt & pepper sauteed in butter with a little bit of garlic.
scallops are surprisingly easy to cook. basically, you allow the butter to melt and and brown and then drop in the scallops. allow them to cook for two to three minutes, and then turn them over. cooks for another two to three minutes and your done.
the scallops turned out great. at that time they're a sort of medium done-ness and aren't rubbery or too stringy. and the simple seasoning worked out nicely.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
the underground garden art piece
i'm taking part in a collaborative art project called "the underground garden," put together by local musician blake jones. it goes hand in hand with the release of the newest album from blake jones & the trike shop.
basically, each artist (there are a ton) are being given a 12"x12" piece of plywood to work with. the prompt is to think about how the local art/music scene is reflected by the idea of an underground garden.
here is my unfinished piece - it's due back to blake by 4/19.
admittedly, this is a crap picture. for whatever reason, i couldn't get a clear picture of the piece. i think it's because of the smearing i used. the piece is done in oil pastels, something i haven't used in a long time. i enjoyed working with them again, and so maybe there is an element of rebirth in it for me. i wanted to use a tree, a common symbol of life to be a symbol, or reflection of the growing arts and music culture in fresno. in the piece you see fruit of different valley plants (grapes, oranges, cotton, strawberries, all coming from the same tree, the same soil. but, this is also a take on the actual underground gardens, where there are fruit grafted onto other trees and so you have a tree that produces multiple fruits. fresno's art & music culture is beginning to bear fruit. it also comes from different branches. in the piece, there are 4 main branches, but this is more symbolic, as there are more than four branches, and more than four types of fruit being born here.
i'm more or less done with piece, i want it to be a quick reaction based on the inspiration.k it's not something i want to work and work and work on. that's not a reflection of the fresno art & music scene, just me & this piece. i'll be adding a polyurethane coat over the top to seal the pastels, and to give is some depth & shine.
the whole collective piece will be unveiled on april 24th at audie's olympic.
(cross posted at artbyedwardstewart)
basically, each artist (there are a ton) are being given a 12"x12" piece of plywood to work with. the prompt is to think about how the local art/music scene is reflected by the idea of an underground garden.
here is my unfinished piece - it's due back to blake by 4/19.
admittedly, this is a crap picture. for whatever reason, i couldn't get a clear picture of the piece. i think it's because of the smearing i used. the piece is done in oil pastels, something i haven't used in a long time. i enjoyed working with them again, and so maybe there is an element of rebirth in it for me. i wanted to use a tree, a common symbol of life to be a symbol, or reflection of the growing arts and music culture in fresno. in the piece you see fruit of different valley plants (grapes, oranges, cotton, strawberries, all coming from the same tree, the same soil. but, this is also a take on the actual underground gardens, where there are fruit grafted onto other trees and so you have a tree that produces multiple fruits. fresno's art & music culture is beginning to bear fruit. it also comes from different branches. in the piece, there are 4 main branches, but this is more symbolic, as there are more than four branches, and more than four types of fruit being born here.
i'm more or less done with piece, i want it to be a quick reaction based on the inspiration.k it's not something i want to work and work and work on. that's not a reflection of the fresno art & music scene, just me & this piece. i'll be adding a polyurethane coat over the top to seal the pastels, and to give is some depth & shine.
the whole collective piece will be unveiled on april 24th at audie's olympic.
(cross posted at artbyedwardstewart)
Friday, April 09, 2010
bassfeinz kru at audie's
i've been enjoying the nights that these guys are putting on over at audie's. not sure i like every dj, but overall it's been nice. check it out.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
the tower shopper
this ended up on my doorstep today:
i'm not sure if it's from the same people that do the other tower coupon flyer, but i'm intrigued. i flipped through the guide and it covers quite a few businesses. not as many coupons, but you can go to towerdistrictonline.com to win stuff.
i'm not sure if it's from the same people that do the other tower coupon flyer, but i'm intrigued. i flipped through the guide and it covers quite a few businesses. not as many coupons, but you can go to towerdistrictonline.com to win stuff.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
filthy urchins
i was slightly annoyed as i pulled out of my driveway this morning to see this mc donalds cup in the street in front of my house.
and this napkin on my curb didn't help either.
i was really pissed when i came home and saw the used condom in the gutter.
seriously, people, who's gettin it on in front of my house, and what sort of loser just litters condoms?
and this napkin on my curb didn't help either.
i was really pissed when i came home and saw the used condom in the gutter.
seriously, people, who's gettin it on in front of my house, and what sort of loser just litters condoms?
Monday, April 05, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
post art hop show review
so, i tried to write up a review of the post art hop show on friday, but blogger was down and i was unable to get it done. now, as the weekend comes to a close, i've got a chance to reflect and write a little about the show.
i didn't feel like driving, and neither did the other person i was sure that was going to the show, so i pitched the idea of walking. we're two strapping young(ish) men and spend a lot of time walking in our neighborhood. however, tokyo isn't quite in our 'hood, but it's not really that far away. i mean, i've walked it in the daytime, and i've ridden my bicycle down there once at night, but i hadn't walked it. it's funny how your mind tricks you on somethings, i almost completely forgot an entire block in the walk. so, by the time we reached tokyo, we were a little warm despite the chill in the air.
since we walked, we arrived around 9:45 and the first act was already on. it was scheduled to be local punk group it'll grow back, but instead it was just their frontman, josh tehee on an acoustic guitar. i had a bit of a difficult time getting into josh's set because it seemed they were still working out the sound system, and proper micing of the guitar. even though i didn't get into the music, i had a good time chatting with josh after his set. he's a funny dude, and i tweeted, "Josh tehee is the poop. funny, talented and an all around nice guy."
after josh was done, it'll grow back came on stage and started to sound check. the first note was so crazy loud that we decided to step outside for a bit. we actually listened to most of their set out there, and it was still pretty loud. for the last few songs we went back in and i made ear plugs out of paper towel to cut a bit off the top. my ears thanked me the next day. i'll be honest, i'm a bit unsure about trumpet solo. they are obviously talented and enjoy what they're doing. but the metal doesn't quite do it for me, and i have a bit of trouble getting into/deciphering the lyrics.
next on stage was the band spider problem, up from the l.a. area. they had a sort of low fi, garage punk sound. i had asked eli from rademacher about them the night before and he said they were good, and that the lead singer was usually rolling around on stage or half naked. there was no half naked, but definitely a lot of stage antics like climbing on stuff, jumping into things, smacking other members of the band. whatever, i was really into the music. it was loud and fast, but very enjoyable. (and yes, i did fashion another set of earplugs from a paper towel for their set as well.) i tweeted about digging the show, and i saw several others from the show had done similar things. i even plunked down the $5 for a cd.
last on the night was our hometown heroes, rademacher. this was my first chance to see them playing with r.c. of el olio wolof on bass. here's my tweets from the show, "holy isht. #rademacher is super dope with radioactive cauliflower on bass. and I'm going 2b deaf tomorrow from all these bands." "if youve ever seen rademacher you need to see rademacher again." "rc reminds me of shel Silverstein. I think it's the beard." the funny thing about the last tweet is that r.c. is a big silverstein fan, and when i mentioned to him he seemed rather happy, and rattled of some silverstein poetry. it was a great cap to the night. seriously, rademacher is as musically tight as i've seen them in a long time. r.c.'s skill on bass is easily observed, and it was great to have malcolm back playing guitar. the songs popped, although there were a few slip ups along the way. but hey, new line ups take a little time to iron out all the creases.
a cab ride later, i was back in my neighborhood and home.
i didn't feel like driving, and neither did the other person i was sure that was going to the show, so i pitched the idea of walking. we're two strapping young(ish) men and spend a lot of time walking in our neighborhood. however, tokyo isn't quite in our 'hood, but it's not really that far away. i mean, i've walked it in the daytime, and i've ridden my bicycle down there once at night, but i hadn't walked it. it's funny how your mind tricks you on somethings, i almost completely forgot an entire block in the walk. so, by the time we reached tokyo, we were a little warm despite the chill in the air.
since we walked, we arrived around 9:45 and the first act was already on. it was scheduled to be local punk group it'll grow back, but instead it was just their frontman, josh tehee on an acoustic guitar. i had a bit of a difficult time getting into josh's set because it seemed they were still working out the sound system, and proper micing of the guitar. even though i didn't get into the music, i had a good time chatting with josh after his set. he's a funny dude, and i tweeted, "Josh tehee is the poop. funny, talented and an all around nice guy."
after josh was done, it'll grow back came on stage and started to sound check. the first note was so crazy loud that we decided to step outside for a bit. we actually listened to most of their set out there, and it was still pretty loud. for the last few songs we went back in and i made ear plugs out of paper towel to cut a bit off the top. my ears thanked me the next day. i'll be honest, i'm a bit unsure about trumpet solo. they are obviously talented and enjoy what they're doing. but the metal doesn't quite do it for me, and i have a bit of trouble getting into/deciphering the lyrics.
next on stage was the band spider problem, up from the l.a. area. they had a sort of low fi, garage punk sound. i had asked eli from rademacher about them the night before and he said they were good, and that the lead singer was usually rolling around on stage or half naked. there was no half naked, but definitely a lot of stage antics like climbing on stuff, jumping into things, smacking other members of the band. whatever, i was really into the music. it was loud and fast, but very enjoyable. (and yes, i did fashion another set of earplugs from a paper towel for their set as well.) i tweeted about digging the show, and i saw several others from the show had done similar things. i even plunked down the $5 for a cd.
last on the night was our hometown heroes, rademacher. this was my first chance to see them playing with r.c. of el olio wolof on bass. here's my tweets from the show, "holy isht. #rademacher is super dope with radioactive cauliflower on bass. and I'm going 2b deaf tomorrow from all these bands." "if youve ever seen rademacher you need to see rademacher again." "rc reminds me of shel Silverstein. I think it's the beard." the funny thing about the last tweet is that r.c. is a big silverstein fan, and when i mentioned to him he seemed rather happy, and rattled of some silverstein poetry. it was a great cap to the night. seriously, rademacher is as musically tight as i've seen them in a long time. r.c.'s skill on bass is easily observed, and it was great to have malcolm back playing guitar. the songs popped, although there were a few slip ups along the way. but hey, new line ups take a little time to iron out all the creases.
a cab ride later, i was back in my neighborhood and home.
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