Power of Music

So, I've been noticing lately the connections music makes. Like, any given song could put a smile on your face. The other day I put in the matches CD while driving and by the time audio blood came on I felt like I was back at icast or at one of the many other venues I've been to, to see the Matches. I could feel the energy. (i got this far and then got distracted... the rest is a continuation 3 days later) If you've been to a good show, you know what I'm talking about. The live music buzz. ...Or maybe I'm just crazy. I guess this is just an attempt to solidify my point with this blog. Obviously to share my thoughts, but also to inspire, promote, and give a voice to the local scene. Music in general has a special role in our lives. And so if the music in the bay area can be so brilliant... why not attempt to expand its genuine greatness? I think I have completely lost the thought that I begun this entry on. If none of that made sense, its not you its me.


And then there is the power of words…
Completely different topic… sorta:


I have always envied those who could use words so well. If you haven't noticed... my vocabulary... and ability to use the small vocabulary I do have... is rather insignificant. To be able to make a whole paragraph make sense with one word or to have the ability to put ideas down clearly. It’s a talent, and if you have it, be thankful. I blame my lack of this talent on that fact I have never really read that much. That was always because either I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it entirely (that made for some late nights) or I could never stay focused on what I was reading. My mind would trail off and I would inevitably reread the same sentence 5 times, to not be able to remember it 2 sentences later. This lead me to the thought I might have A.D.D. ... but that is highly doubtful. The point of this little ramble?… I guess I'm apologizing to those of you who actually read this blog, that you have to deal with my sad attempt of making sense of seemingly random words.

To prove my point... while writing this post I used dictionary.com/thesaurus.com at least 8 times.

To those kids out there: Not want to be like me? Go read a book!
… Hell... you might even like it.


Don't have anything to do on new years eve? Birdmonster is playing bottom of the hill with boyskout + more. check it out. Tickets are... $19.99 i think

also.. December 29th... Desa, Tera Melos, and Judgement Day are playing Bottom of the Hill. If you miss this show... I'm not quite sure what you are doing even bothering reading my blog.

Upcoming shows for Panda:
Jan 14th @ oakland metro
Jan 19th @ Blakes (18+)
March 17 @ Cafe Du Nord

The morning benders and playing with panda at Blakes
they also have a show on Jan 6th a the Rickshaw Stop

Jan 5th @ bottom of the hill is... Push To Talk and Audrye Sessions

Also coming up at bottom fo the hill is The Tera Melos again on the 18th
and then on the 28th is Strike Anywhere Love Equals Death and The Actual

Fans of The Donnas? they are playing Bottom of the Hill on March 2nd

Judgement Day is also playing the gilman on jan 12th

Monster Squad Plays the gilman on the 19th

And wait... The Fleshies are playing Gilman on the 27th? i think so. check that out.

okay.. i really should have just put all these on the calendar but im too much of a slacker for that... so you can try and figure these out.
I have had the urge all day to watch Detroit Rock City... so i think ill go do that.

enjoy,
Paige

NSSN Update

and the winner for the not so silent night local band contest is... Cold Hot Crash

Should be an awesome show.

Hah.. nevermind..

I lied... photos will now be hosted/and linked to photobucket.

Live Music? About Time...

So I checked out the Panda show at the Red House and the Street To Nowhere show at Bottom of the Hill recently. Man I've missed live shows... quick update before getting into that thought... the blog set up for photos is now gone. in its place I am going to use photo bucket or Flickr... I havent decided yet... but you'll follow the same like on the sidebar to get to it.

2 hours later..
ya forget that whole changing the photo blog thing... i'm still using it... so.. ya..


So why is it i finally got around to writing this post? well.. I was watching FUSE... and it was Stevens Untitled Rock Show.. heh.. ya.. I couldnt find much on TV.. but The Matches Papercut Skin video came on.. and I more or less freaked out because I'm still adjusting to how well known they are now. so I was kinda just like "HOLY SHIT!"... and then i remembered i needed to write this post.. which has lead me to right now.

Agaisnt my beliefs... I went the Red House to see Panda, but that band is worth my abandonment of principles. I felt more or less sick most of the night... well not sick but more disgusted but ya. I sat in a corner in the upstairs with my friend Joe till Panda's set. There is no way you can hate those boys. I was just simply smiling the whole set.. and that says alot because i DON'T smile. Ask people that know me... they will just laugh at the suggestion. Interesting happening that night... the manager of The Killers came out for the show. Yay for Panda. Also, Panda is in the 25 bands competing for the Not So Silent Night spot. Good Luck guys!


Street To Nowhere played Bottom of the hill. It was almost a year to the day that they had their CD release there. Kinda cool. Kevin Devine opened... His voice reminded me of the lead singer's in the Rocket Summer. I liked him... He had a cool sound. Go check him out.

Street To Nowhere played after... Oh how i missed seeing them. I've spoken so much about them before I think i'll porbably just repeatmyself... so.. ill just say they were yet again AMAZING

My friend, Gabby, came with me. She happened to love Matt Pond PA sooo.. we stayed for their set. I like 'em. They put on a good show.. although I'm not sure their sound is quite my style.

We headed out after that.. what can I say? I had school the next day.
I took some pictures at the show.. so check out the photo section for that.


-Paige


Panda is playing Bottom of the Hill tomorrow night.... Doors 830 show 9... be there.

Check the bands out for yourself:

Panda:
http://www.myspace.com/pandaplaysmusic

Kevin Devine:
http://www.kevindevine.net/blog.aspx
http://www.myspace.com/kevindevine

Street To Nowhere:
http://www.streettonowhere.com
http://www.myspace.com/streettonowhere

Matt Pond PA:
http://www.mattpondpa.com
http://www.myspace.com/mattpondpa

The Matches:
http://www.thematches.com
http://www.myspace.com/thematches

The Rocket Summer:
http://www.therocketsummer.com
http://www.myspace.com/therocketsummer

Band Show Fix

yup yup... finally a show... after like a month?.. i thought i was going to go insane.

so.. this weekend..
although i hate the red house.
Panda is playing the red house on sat.
go check it out n support.... $10


on sunday....
STREET TO NOWHERE IS BACK IN TOWN
yes indeedy.
bottom of the hill.
be there.




quick lil update... can't believe i didnt mention this earlier.. hhmmm.. maybe i did...

anyways.. Dear Kerosene..formerly dear static... formerly io.... is somewhat broken up.
Ben Flanagan (vocals) has left the band and joined... The Actual. As for the rest of the members of Dear Kerosene. I am not sure if they are going to continue one... look for a new lead vocal guy... or what. but thats just a quick update... not all facts are certain.. except that Ben is now in The Actual.

I wish him the best of luck. The Actual is a great band..

Speaking of the Actual.... they are playing bottom of the hill on the 27th. GO.


-Paige

I Need To Go To A Show!!!!

it's been like... 3 weeks?... something like that. I might just go insane... and i really need to update the calander for upcoming shows.. sorry about that. uhm... since i probably wont get to that right now.. here are some things you should know.. Panda is playing Blakes on the 5th. Street To Nowhere is playing Bottom of the Hill on the 19th. Poor Bailey has a CD release at bottom of the hill tomorrow... someone go for me because I cant. Alexic plays gilman on the 24th. Minipop and Day One Symphony is playing bottom of the hill on the 18th. Brilliant Red Lights plays bottom of the hill on the 27th. On December 22nd Facing New York plays bottom of the hill. Judgement Day Desa and the Tera Melos play Bottom of the Hill on the 29th (this will be a show you wont want to miss). Panda plays the red house on nov. 18th (as much as i hate the place these guys are worth going there to see).


but ya.. i need to get out of the house n go to a show... or i might just go insane... so until i have a show i can rave about.. uhm... check out New Years Day.... not a bad band... I've been trying to see them live for god knows how long but havent gotten the chance.

Enjoy,
Paige

Weird People Follow Audrye Sessions.

Ya... so... highlight of my night... this guy... late 30s? ya.. around there... dancing/jumping around right in front of the stage with his shirt half way off... i am assuming drunk... or maybe off his meds. ( a joke) amazing much? To tie the whole weird people follow thing in... i was at an Audrye sessions show a while back... it was at imusicast.. so ya... and there was this girl.. that was dancing around in the center of the crowd.. and it wasn't like 2 stepping or anything, but like interpretive dancing... and then between songs she would stretch... ya don't ask me... but that's why i used that title...


So show at the oakland metro... Shall we go in set order? Okay.

Panda... simply grand. Gotta love those guys. seriously seriously awesome to see live... just how much they get into it and what not.. ya so go see them. Petros was amazing on the jailhouse rock cover. simply amazing... What made it even better was the bubble machine... bubbles are fun... even though the bubbles were floating in the opposite direction as me. Sorry for lack of... well whatever it is that i currently feel is missing from this post... but im tired. really tired. so moving on...

The Catholic Comb. They've got this sorta gloomy psychadelic sound... and i love it. not to mention the lead singer, Adam i think it is, hair. Pure grandness.

The Morning Benders. I have been trying to get out to a show to check them out for i don't know how long. Everytime they had a show i was always busy... so... i was stoked when i found out they were on the bill. I like them... i like the sound they have alot as well.

Poor Bailey... I simply love 'em there isnt much else to say besides that. So a guy walks into a bar(for clerity reasons let's call him john)... and he sits down... he pulls out a cigarette and asks the guy next to him(lets call him Tim) if he's got a light. The guy pulls out a 10 inch bic. John is all" holy s**** where'd you get a 10 inch bic?" And Tim replies " I have this geanyyou see... and pulls one of those gold lams out of his pocket" SO John asks "well, can I ask the geany for something?" Tim hands John the geany and and John says "Hey, hey geany can i have a million bucks?" And the bar filled up with ducks. ducks were everywhere. and john says to tim "I think its broken." and Tim replies "no it's not. Doyou really think I asked for a 10 inch bic?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

ya... the drummer said joke during their set while a guitar was being tuned or something. I dont know.. i laughed so i thought I'd share it. yes yes so the set was rather enjoyable.

Audrye Sessions..... I have spoken of them many times before.. and stand by my comments. They are simply fantastical. I really really like their new song New Years Day.


It seems every band that played has something substantial going on with their music. You will be hearing more from all them...


random stuff about the night... at one point while setting up Anton had chips with him. By that point in the night I was really hungry.... and so that was kinda taunting...

Johnny of Panda knows all.

There was this really wloud guy behind me during the poor bailey set... his breath was like... attack of alcohol smell.

John Paulson, president and producer at talking house productions, was there. He is a pretty cool guy.

I have the same striped shirt/sweater as scott of poor bailey.



On another note... I'm starting a new pictures section... so i will now be posting pictures taken at shows... now all i need to do is get my own camera. the link to that shall be next to the interview link. speaking interviews... any band you want me to interview?


Your sleep deprived blogger,
Paige


Links Links Links:

Talking House Productions:
http://thpro.com

Panda:
http://www.myspace.com/pandaplaysmusic

Audrye Sessions:
http://www.myspace.com/audryesessions
http://www.audryesessions.net/

The Catholic Comb:
http://www.myspace.com/thecatholiccomb
http://thecatholiccomb.com

Poor Bailey:
http://www.myspace.com/poorbailey
http://www.poorbailey.com/intro.html

The Morning Benders:
http://www.myspace.com/themorningbenders
http://www.themorningbenders.com

FINALLY

I found time to update yay!... i should probably be working or... doing homework.. or sleeping.. but... i needed to get this done before i totally forgot the show.. oh wait.. i more or less.

So what can i say about the Matches CD release which was... like.. 2+ weeks ago.....

It was........ amazing. the energy was insane. I was very happy when the matches played a mixture of old songs and new songs. The fact the played scratched out was just grand. you can check out teh recording of that... which is in another post.

I remeber the first time I saw My Former Self. It was in the meeting hall type place of a church community center. Random? Indeed. That was a good show though. At the release they were pretty sweet. Chris's hair has got bigger.

Desa.... me gusta mucho. I like the dummer. Despite the fact he lives in hawaii... he is awesome. They set was just lovely. Next chance you get... GO SEE DESA

Thats all i can really say due to a bad memory... uhm... if you weren't there you missed out.

but first i must sleep

ya... updates from the last few weeks shall be up tomorrow... maybe monday.. and sit tight while i sort through the recordings from the most recent show... i'd do it now.... but... i have to wake up in.... 5 1/2 hours.. so ya.


notes to self:

alcohol smell
dancing people
striped shirt
fillings
talking house




-Paige

Audrye Sessions

sorry for the really really bad quality... but ya..

Audrye Sessions

Poor Bailey

The Catholic Comb

I Need Sleep

yup.. so i've been rather busy lately... and still havent gotten to do an update... uhh.. sorry bout that should have a new post up by friday.. hopefully..


so now i'm going to go sleep... something of which im lacking alot of. Yes... i am going to bedt at 11 on a saturday.... what is the world coming to!?


-Paige

CD Release Recordings

Hey, so just for now.. here's some recording of the matches CD release... sorry for the bad quality... and what not.. more info bout how the show went to come... probably tomorrow cause right now i want to sleep.


The Matches:

You (Don't) Know Me

Scratched Out

Clumsy Heart

Salty Eyes

DESA:

X Million

Delilah

I Love Free Shows

Indeed I do. What better place to go see a free show than a Tuesday night at Tower Records in Concord? So ya.... I went to see Media Blackout and to get some CDs... odd I know considering I don’t usually buy CDs... So the show was pretty sweet... I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many encore songs played.. Speaking of songs, the 2 previous posts are recording from tonight’s show. They aren't of best quality.. sorry.. but hey... its better than nothing right? Err.. well maybe not. So ya.. Media Blackout... I like Media Blackout. There is definite room fro improvement, but I like what they've got going on. Referring to a past post about Joey, the bassist, tonight was quite opposite. Not in that he was running around and jumping every other second, but the whole group just fit together. One probably wouldn’t understand what I'm talking about if the haven't read that other post... maybe even if you have heh.. But you so it all worked tonight and i liked it. I love how the drummer, Kyle, plays without shoes... not something a person usually notices... but seeing as how they weren’t on a stage nor were there many people there.. i noticed. So ya I like them bla d bla d bla... you should go check them out at their show Oct. 7th and the epidemic bla d bla d bla... Referring again back to that old post, Brandon didn’t come off quite as much as a porn star.. maybe its because he cut his hair... or he shaved... or something along those lines.. but ya.. eh.. o well. He could still be one. Really lost now? GO READ THE OLDER POST.


On another note... and quite different genre... I got the new matches CD, Decomposer... and just started listening to it. ... wow.... sound changed much?... I am currently 1 minute and 27 seconds into this CD and if it wasn't for me being able to recognize Shawn's voice I'd think this was a completely different band.. not that that's a bad thing. I like it so far. So bascially I'm gunna type whatever I think while listening to this WHOLE Cd... excited? .. ya... kinda drawing a blank.. Okay I’m not going to talk about the whole CD. I think you should go out and buy it, listen to it, and then make up your own mind about it. I like it, but I also have mixed feelings. Actually, it’s more like I love it. I’m not able to explain what I think of this album… dun dun dunnnnn... is the world coming to an end or something?


I finally got Bullets and Octane's most recent album In the Mouth of the Young.. about fuckin time. Really. I haven't got a chance to listen to it... but i already know... it shall be pure amazingness. ... yup.. amazingness.


I'm kinda tired... so I going to wrap this up with all that link stuff... shove all the random objects on my bed off... and sleep

>Paige



Places you should visit if this post interested you at all:

Media Blackout :
http://www.myspace.com/mblackout


Tower Records :
http://www.towerrecords.com/Stores/store.asp?storeID=t17182


Bullets and Octane :
http://www.myspace.com/bulletsandoctane
http://www.bullets-and-octane.com



The Matches :
http://www.myspace.com/thematches
http://www.thematches.com/#

Media Blackout Song 2

Media Blackout Song 1

New Stuff?!

yup yup I have new stuff for the blog... well 1 thing. I have added an interview section. You can get to it by looking at the side bar and clicking "INTERVIEWS". There is currently only one interview but an interesting one at that. I did an email interview with Adam Davis of DESA... so everyone check it out. Speaking of DESA... they are playing with the matches at slims this friday... everyone should check it out.

- Paige

Check It

Waste My Life For You

Georgia Can You Hear Me

I think, I think, I think, I think too much...

The Format played Slims last night. As some of us know... Street To Nowhere is on tour with The Format. The other 2 bands playing that night were Rainer Maria and Anathallo. Anathallo opened. They were interesting to say the least. Very entertaining to watch. Heh… very entertaining… I don't really feel like going into detail about their set so I'm not. They were good. Street to Nowhere played after them. It was great seeing them after a couple months. Maybe I'm crazy but while they have been touring Dave has changed the style and way he sings certain parts of songs. And that isn’t a good thing as in they didn’t need to change them, but it most definitely isn’t a bad thing. I liked the new sound mucho. So the set was great and I posted some audio blogs of it... hopefully they came out okay... it was my first time doing it, and if all sounds good it shall become a regular thing. (check them out.) As for Rainer Maria, I liked ‘em. The guitarist’s energy was great. As for the singer, in some of her songs her voice sounded somewhat like Cyndi Lauper's. I dug it. Regretfully, I didn't stay for the Format. I'm not going to get into why. So that was the show... If you weren't there... that really sucks for you. But you can make it up by either going to the Matches CD release there on the 15th or to Dear Kerosene’s show at the Bottom of the Hill on the 15th.

Lets see what other happenings were there at the show... The guys from the Matches were there... and Adam of Desa... and Ben of Dear Kerosene... James of Push To Talk... and that’s all I can remember.

News from Dear Kerosene... They have a new drummer. He was in the Bloodhound Gang.

Info about Desa... So they are playing with the matches at slims on the 15th. Their new drummer is coming over from Hawaii to play this show. This is why they haven’t been having many shows, their drummer LIVES in Hawaii... Hopefully he'll abandon his tropical paradise for the lovely bay area.


On another note... sorry I haven’t gotten the calendar updated lately... I'll get on it. Also, I was reading over my previous posts... and I came to notice... My skills when it comes to grammar/spelling aren’t just bad... they are down right horrid... so I’m sorry about that... I'ma start cleaning up some of the old posts and just start being more mindful of the new ones. I just didn't read enough as a kid... what can I say?

Your illiterate blogger,
Paige

So Where Was I?

Ah yes nor cal compilations. The first one (2003)has bands like Once Over, Tragedy Andy, Dexter Danger, Street To Nowhere, The Matches, n The Drive Home plus some other great bands. Some bands featured on the 2004 compilation are My Former Self, 5606, Go On Red, Things Markb, Halfway to Nowhere, and Street To Nowhere. The 2005 one has Audrye Sessions, Overview, Judgement Day, Desa, Tera Melos, My Lars and the Wildlife plus others previously mentioned and more. As for the most recently put out 2006 compilation, there are tracks from Dear Kerosene, Two Seconds, M.C. Lars, The Matches (previously unreleased track Didi), Push To Talk, Minipop, and Scissors For Lefty and more. So what is my suggestion? Go get the compilation bundle..., which includes something like 2003, 2004, and 2005 compilations along with a poster, stickers, and if they are out of pins... possibly the 2006 compilation. Did I mention this was less than $20? Anyways... according to me, Paige, everyone should go order it NOW.


What else was I supposed to catch up on? Oh yes the street to nowhere 7" ... Lately I have been using the word Brilliant to describe Street To Nowhere, and really, it fits. This 7" I found to be quite amazing. From the cover of Hallelujah (yes over done but when its done this well... that really doesn’t matter.) to the heart felt It's Not Me to the "hidden" track (which I happened to know about before hand) which was unexpected to say the least. The whole thing was just pure brilliance. So about that "hidden" track that I happen to not know the title of... I loved it and yet... I didn’t know how to respond to it. To see that song preformed live would be... I can't even think of a word to describe. So in the theme of today’s post, everyone should go order this as well. Don’t have a record player? I don’t care. Go buy 1, go raid your grandparent’s house, go steal yours back from your dad (what I did), get 1 some how… I don’t want to know, but get 1 and listen to this 7”. You’ll be glad you did.

Well ... I'm pretty sure that catches me up. Yay.. Now to go write a post on last night’s show at slims.


-Paige

Uhm... ya..

So...it only took me like 2 weeks to get this up... but in my defense.. I’ve been busy... with things like my birthday, soccer, and school just started. Anyways… where did I leave off? Okay so… there was this show at my friends house in his garage... but… I really don’t feel like posting anything about that.. therefore I’m not going to, well other than dreams die first were playing when I got there and as I’ve said before, they are GOOD.

This post is going to be more aimed on CDs n stuff... my brother got the nor cal compilation bundle for me for my birthday... and since they were out of pins they sent the nor cal compilation 2006 in its place. sweet deal much?... anyways.. These compilations are really good. All have solid bands on ‘em. oh shit.. I gots to go. So much for getting caught up. I'll finish this in another post later I guess...

peace,
Paige

Hey Hey Hey

(This was started 2+ weeks ago. Heh… what can I say?) So I was sitting n listening to the decomposer sample medley the Matches were kind enough to put up on their myspace for their fans to check out and get an idea of just how great this new album is going to be…. And I thought I should probably put a post up about the show I was at Saturday… but on the subject of the matches… go check out this music sample… and you tell me… has their sound changed? It really does seem like it has on quite a few of these new songs. But back to the show… and in remembrance of the show… I think ill listen to the free CD I got from Scott Vicknair of Poor Bailey.

So I went to the Oakland metro on Saturday to check out some bands… but then again… why else would I be there?… (besides that casino night they had there on the 5th, and all the other events besides shows they have there) and I could blame this late post (haha funny thing is .. this late post got even later… ) on the fact my internet was out on Sunday…. But really, I must recognize my great talent of being a slacker… nnnneways… the show was cool. It went like this… The Sex Offenders, LikeWise, Cold Hot Crash, Scott Vicknair of Poor Bailey, and Secondhand Serenade. The Sex Offenders were interesting to watch… heh… hard to describe their set…uhm.. ya.. so… then.. LikeWise (this post will be continued later due to my computer wiggin out)

Hey I’m back.. soo.. the metro show. I liked LikeWise.. atleast what I remember of the set… seeing as how it was awhile ago. Not bad. I’d been trying to get out to see Cold Hot Crash for a long time.. maybe 6 months?.. so finally getting out to see them was a treat. Yes I did just say that. I dig their sound... majorly. Some catchy tunes there. Scott of Poor Bailey was very enjoyable… I really liked his drug song.. man I really should write posts sooner.. I can’t even remember song titles. During Scott’s set I really did notice just how unpacked the metro was. Usually when I’m at shows at this venue there are way way more people. This time it was basically the guys from the bands playing and 20 others… okay… maybe 27?. Actually hell! Who really knows? I happen to be very bad with judging that type of stuff. Anyways this small crowd made the set just that much better. It’s one of the things I really like about being involved with the local scene. Some shows you go to end up being like this one with not many people and everything is just more personal. So ya, the atmosphere was pretty sweet. I saw John (of secondhand serenade) a while back at Historic Sweets Ballroom. I knew then and there the guy had skill. So when I got a chance to talk to him at his show it didn’t surprise me all that much when he told me he was close to signing with a label. Example being Capitol Records. As for his set, I really liked it. It’s not quite my type of music… but good enough that that doesn’t matter.


Well… that’s all I had to update on this post… now to go write a post on what I’ve been up to since I started writing this post some odd weeks ago…

-Paige


Check out the bands mentioned:


The Matches
http://www.thematches.com
http://www.myspace.com/thematches
LikeWise
http://www.myspace.com/likewise
Cold Hot Crash
http://www.myspace.com/coldhotcrash
http://www.coldhotcrash.com
Poor Bailey
http://www.myspace.com/poorbailey
http://www.poorbailey.com
Secondhand Serenade
http://www.secondhandserenade.com
http://www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade

Check out venues mentioned:

The Oakland Metro
http://www.oaklandmetro.org

I AM A SLACKER

Well not really, but sorta. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been kinda busy n what not. I have to post 2 show review things and then talk bout some CDs n other stuff i ordered... sooo... basically... main topics of the posts to come will be: Secondhand Serendae, Poor Bailey, The Sex Offenders, LikeWise, The Dismay, The Cassavettes, The Ax Affect, some other bands i dont remeber the names of, Agent Records NorCal compilations (note the s as in plural), and Street To Nowhere's 7". So check back within the next week for those... heh... hopefully in the next week.. Oh and Street To Nowhere has a show at Slims in SF on Aug. 28th with the Format. Be there or be SQUARE. Get tickets in advance.


Chao,
Paige

YAY for BBQs

So... the band Shakey Bones... I’ve been talking about them a bit in the recent posts had a BBQ to kinda kick off their tour. So a bunch of people headed to heather farms park in Walnut Creek to chill... smoke... drink... eat... and listen to live music. 'Twas pretty damn cool. Besides the sad attempts at cooking burgers and the 105+ degree weather... I had a good time. Some other kids chilling there were guys from the band… the honey fuckers... I think that was the name... well ya they were cool and had close to the same sound as Shakey Bones.... very humorous songs. This guy Pat was there with his guitar and harmonica, he has a cool thing going on. I hadn't seen him play since this rock show thing at my high school, and then there was this other kid... (Note: I refer to anyone under 30 as kid.... well sometimes over 30 as well.) His music didn’t quite fit in but with the group we were... that kind of stuff really didn’t matter... he rapped... kinda reminded me of a younger rawer MC Lars...maybe a little less talented... I got a sticker from him.. yay... ... so ya.. good day.. good people... good music..

This weekend there are 3 shows at the Oakland metro everyone should check out. Friday the 28th Kid Moe is playing their last show. Sat. the 29th secondhand serenade is playing along with poor bailey and other great bands. Sunday the 30th Shiny Toy Guns and Broken Dolls are playing. Try to make it out to at least one of these shows... should be awesome. (see calendar link for more info... well.. not much.. but some.. maybe)
If you don’t feel like hauling your ass out to Oakland... or do feel like hauling your ass further if you live in SF/ Oakland... my friend Mike Parvizi is playing at the Red House in Walnut Creek on sat. the 29th. Now I don’t support the red house that much... but I do support this guy.. so check him out.

On another note... I'm looking for suggestions... what you like about this blog... what you don’t like... what I need to improve on yadda yadda yadda... so let me know.

Check out the bands listed above:

Kid Moe:
http://www.myspace.com/kidmoe

Rapper kid:
http://www.myspace.com/tmunayymusic

Secondhand Serenade:
http://www.myspace.com/secondhandserenade
http://www.secondhandserenade.com

Shiny Toy Guns:
http://www.myspace.com/shinytoyguns

The Oakland Metro:
http://www.oaklandmetro.org

For links to Shakey Bones, Broken Dolls, and Poor Bailey see previous posts.

A Whole 10 Days!?... +7 more

.... Since I posted the last entry.... not bad. Since then I have been to warped tour, a show at bourbon street, and the street to nowhere goodbye show. So let the updatation begin! ...(Is updatation a word?.. I don’t think so.. oh well.. it works.)

Vans Warped Tour 2006 July 8th in SF. This was my second year going.... yes.. second.. as in I’ve only been twice... indeed I was once a sheltered child not too long ago... then I got a Ramones CD(even though that was longer than 2 years ago…) and all that changed, but enough rambling. Warped was pretty cool. It was on my good friend Mary's birthday so we went together. Now I had a list of the bands I wanted to check out with the priority ones highlighted... yet… when it comes to everything else in my life.. I am very very very disorganized... I think.... anyways.. on that list were the bands in order of which I wanted to see most (or at least sorta); Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Pink Spiders, Plain White T's, The Casualties, Zebrahead, TAT, The Living End, Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake, and Motion City Soundtrack. Now when it came to warped tour in general, Mary and I had different priorities. Sure we both wanted to check out our favorite bands... but her whole time there was focused more on the people there, boys, yadda yadda yadda, where as mine was more enjoying the music and basically... nothing else. Seeing as how it was her birthday I went more along with the people aspect of it all.. In doing so... out of the bands I listed about... I saw... Half a set of the Casualties, the Living End, the Plain White T's, and Less Than Jake. Major bummer eh?.. oh well I’ll get over it.. I liked the bands playing warped tour last year more anyways.. but hey... I didn’t get sunburned!... although I did get randomly attacked by 2 guys in their late 20s early 30s with squirt guns o_0 ... that was interesting... but rather annoying

Bourbon Street show... let me start of by saying I'm not really one for screamo/metalcore/whatever the hell else you call a type of music that involves screaming, but... my friend Nick had his first show and he was in the headlining band.. so of course I was going to go. The 2 opening bands I don’t remember the names of... although I did like the first one... I was also there for the band Dreams Die First, which I have been trying to go see since Evan formerly of Losing Autumn joined as lead vocals. So they went on. Major sound issues. The mic wouldn’t work... and then other wouldn’t work... and then the first one finally started working... But these guys are great. Not quite my style of music... but still sound really good and they put on a great show.

Like 7 … maybe 8..days later….

Ya.. my internet died… so.. I stopped… and then didn’t get around to finishing this post till just now. I find it funny considering the genre of music being played at that show, while writing this I’m listening to America. Anyways... back to Dreams Die First… Evan really rocked it out on vox. And then when Tom (screams/guitar) jumped off stage and into the crowd… man… this band has got the potential to go far… not only with their skill but with their passion… lets just hope for their sake screamo stays “in”. So on to Raze the Living… hahaha play on words…. Raze… look how its spelled… (if you don’t get it… look it up) ..ahem anyways.. for a new band they were damn good. The music was tight and I am in no way bias because I am good friend with the guy on lead vocals when I say the intensity and emotion he put into the performance was mind blowing… I often marvel at Dave Smallen of Street to Nowhere’s ability to connect himself with his music so well and pour out his emotions in his songs in live performances. And really when I think of pouring out emotion… that genre of music is the first that comes to mind… I dare to say that Nick’s performance was on the same level as one of Dave’s in regard to the portrayal of ones emotion…. through different methods...of course. So ya.. that show was cool


Next show….. Street To Nowhere was going on tour with the Format… so… they had a goodbye show at the Oakland Metro. Playing with them were Daniel Berkman, Broken Dolls, Brilliant Red Lights, and Audrye Sessions. I can’t stress enough how much I like Broken Doll’s sound. Now some people have said that they really do like them but they don’t have the sound that is in right now, and therefore don’t think there is much out there for them. I say screw that. There will always be people out there that don’t like the popular music, so they have an automatic fan base right there. Also, I believe that if a band is good enough, it really doesn’t matter if their sound is “in” or if it’s “out”. So to anyone reading this… forget the whole music propaganda people have been feeding you and go listen to the broken dolls.. hell… go see them live… if you like ‘em enough buy a CD or T-shirt. They sell them for $1 each. Well… that was a lovely rant. Sorry, back to the show. Broken Dolls played great although I do miss Dylan’s dreads. Brilliant Red Lights was … interesting. For some reason their music didn’t quite “grab” me, but I did like them. The guys’ stage presence is great and it was a very entertaining set. I really liked their song New Flags. As for Audrye Sessions… that band is just … wow. Audrye Sessions is Audrye Sessions. There is no other way to put it. So that set was just marvelous. And then… Street To Nowhere. Do I really need to say anything? I mean I think I have enough blog entries about this band already. It was great to bare witness to the growth and development of this band in the past year. I remember when it was just Dave, how he barely interacted with the crowd and now, well… you see more of the person behind the music. Oh.. update: Will is officially part of the band. Yay for STN getting an official guitarist! And.. that’s about it.. Aaron of Agent Records set up a flickr as a sort of photoblog while he and the guys tour. Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/57986426@N00

Also, Street To Nowhere is putting out a 7" with agent records. Go order it from the agent records website (check link below)


Learn more about bands/venues mentioned above:

Bourbon Street Bar and Grill:
http://www.bourbonstreetrocks.com/index.html

The Oakland Metro:
http://www.oaklandmetro.org

Dreams Die First:
http://www.myspace.com/dreamsdiefirst
http://www.dreamsdiefirst.com

Raze the Living:
http://www.myspace.com/RAZETHELIVING

Broken Dolls:
http://www.myspace.com/brokendolls
http://www.brokendollsband.com

Brilliant Red Lights:
http://www.myspace.com/brilliantredlights
http://www.brilliantredlights.com

Audrye Sessions:
http://www.myspace.com/audryesessions

Street To Nowhere:
http://www.myspace.com/streettonowhere
http://www.streettonowhere.com

Agent Records:
http://www.myspace.com/agentrecords
http://www.agentrecords.com/index.php

That's all folks,
Paige

Good Ol' Downtown Walnut Creek

... so for those of you that dont know me very well... I spend alot of time in downtown walnut creek.. when there aren't any good shows... or i cant get a ride to a show... im in walnut creek hanging out. (come find me and say hi)... anyways... I was down there tonight.. and these guys from the band Shakey Bones were down there playing. It really was great. I think some of the best performances I've seen have been just spur of the moment types of things, but maybe its just the atmosphere that makes them what they are. The Shakey Bones have this folk sound and although i dont usually listen to all that much folk.. i really like 'em... Their presence and energy when they play is inspiring.

so... go see if you like 'em too:

http://www.myspace.com/shakeitorbreakit



yay videos!




... that is all...
-Paige

GET INVOLVED

So I'm trying to spread the word about my blog... if you could copy the code in the text box below and put it up around the internet... like myspace for example... that would be awesome


<a href="http://accordingtopaige.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/_The_Nameless_/untitledrthrt.jpg" /></a><br /><br />


on another note... I know my views and thoughts on the music and sound of bands.. isn't quite to where everyone respects and listens to my opinions, but if you do want to know what I think about a certain band.. tell me about a show they have coming up.. and if I can, I'll go check it out and post a blog on the whole experience..

If you are in a band and have a banner... let me know.. if i like you guys I'll see what i can do about puting it up on my blog.

E> Paige

MC Lars iGeneration

rather fitting?

1 Night Metal the Next Night Ska

You know how there are just certain people that just aren't fun to go to shows with sometimes and other times are great?... Or the people that think they are too cool to show up for the opening bands? Well.. I went to a Suburban Legends show with one of those types last night, and it was their non fun self. Last night's experience has made me decide.... i need to find new people to go to shows with. Any takers?

Verge Concerts is having a battle of the bands. Last nights was hosted at Historic Sweets Ballroom in Oakland. They had Suburban Legends headlining, which was the only reason I went. Doors were at 630 show was at 7. I left my house around 8.. So by the time i got there.. All Heroes (formerly All Heroes Die) was finishing their set. Next was Waiting In Vain and then 5606. The bassist of 5606 did this kick spin thing during their set that i still dont understand how it was humanly possible. At the time it seemed like it defyed the laws of gravity. Suburban Legends was gnarly... as usual... They enver cease to make me smile, but hey! they're a ska band!.... SL closed with Under the Sea, a great cover, and the i went home... nothing really special about the night... and sadly... that is really all i have to say...

until next time,

Paige


Check out these bands:

Suburban Legends:
http://www.myspace.com/suburbanlegends
http://www.suburbanlegends.com/Default.aspx

All Heroes Die:
http://www.myspace.com/allheroes
http://www.allheroesmusic.com/

5606:
http://www.myspace.com/5606
http://www.5606live.com/

To Clerify the Bassist Thing..

Okay, I got a comment on the last entry about how a bassist shouldn't move around. So i thought i should maybe clerify what i meant with the whole bassist thing. Joey(the bassist of media blackout) is pretty good, and at one point he was actually rocking out on the stage and that was awesome but mostly he just stood and stared of into the distance or down at his bass. I mean hey whatever he wants, but at least have a head nod or something going on ya know? It just seemed to me the stage was unbalanced with Brandon moving around and then Kyle center back playing drums.. and then Joey standing there... i know as a bassist you dont move too much, but just let the crowd know your alive every once in awhile.... but hey who am i too judge...


E> Paige

I Think That Was A Metal Show?

... yup.... went and checked out Bourbon Street last night with my friend Mary. I really like the set up of that place… a lot. The crowd isn’t too bad either... but then again it was also a week night. so hm… Anyways, I went and saw Media Blackout, Hysteria, and Exodus Rose.

My friend Nick is going to be playing there with his band Raze the Living on July 9th. It’s really hard to picture him up their screaming though, really really hard. That show should be interesting. Everyone go and support your local music scene!

So back to the show. I'm not sure I like screamo bands all that much, like.. if all it is, is screaming, I mean ya its cool, but I'd like to be able to understand the words. I made out maybe 2 words during Exodus Rose's set.

I first saw Hysteria at the Battle of the Bands that I ranted about in a previous blog post. The whole thing with Posterboy and shit, ya... But anyways, I really like Hysteria. The singers voice is like old school metal, and he’s really good. It was rather funny, as soon as they started playing it was more or less hair flying everywhere, the band's and crowd's.

Media Blackout... yes I went to see them mainly. Not a bad band. I like their sound, rock/grunge/alt., but rather emo. As for the show they put on... heh... not bad... the bassist needs to be way more animated. he looked so gone on stage either staring off into the distance or staring at his bass.... not moving.... minus the whole playing the instrument part. I liked the drummer... not much to complain about there really... Lead singer Brandon Verrett is an interesting one. Mary and I discussed this throughout their set. While on stage this guy has this weird sex appeal thing about him. The way he stands, plays guitar, moves around the stage, and sings just screams "I'm hot, fuck me." Which went rather well considering his shirt said "Fuck Media Blackout"... but that could be taken different ways. Anyways, Mary and I came to a conclusion about this kid, and that is... that he should be a porn star. I am not kidding... Go check out media blackout live and you will know what I am talking about, as odd as it might sound.

Besides the live bands, Mary and I got many people giving us weird looks, or just staring. That was interesting. We hung with the guys of Killit for a bit during the last set and after the show. They are cool guys, and just because of that… you should go to one of their shows. Their sound isn’t too bad either.

So the night was successful... pretty good music... 2$ CD... free patch... hmm

E> the one and only,
Paige



Check out the bands mentioned in this blog:

Media Blackout:
http://www.myspace.com/mblackout

Hysteria:
http://www.myspace.com/hysteriabrentwood

Killit:
http://www.myspace.com/killitmetal

Exodus Rose:
http://www.myspace.com/exodusrose

That Was Some Really Good Coke

Hey, how's everyone doing? (Directed at my audience of around 3 people) I am actually on top of posting new blogs, for once. I mean who woulda thought... posting a blog about a show the same day I went to it. Well actually that probably wont happen considering I will most likely write about half of this entry put in a movie like Heathers or give in to my random desire to watch The Fast and the Furious and end up postin’ this tomorrow, maybe even the day after, but ignore all that pointless rambling. Shall we get to the good stuff? That is if one would consider this good... (good being interesting) right then... uhm..

So I got back from the Hijack the Disco show maybe 10 minutes ago. For some reason car rides home from shows always go way faster than car rides to the shows... hmm... I wonder why.... Speaking of rides, I couldn’t find one for this show so I ended up having my mother and her friend go with me. As I have said in previous entries I am secure enough with myself to do this. I mean I'm just so damn cool... ahem… so the show… or the set I should say, since I only went for and only stayed for Hijack the Disco's set, which was just grand. Trevor blew me away on drums. He is damn good. Then Mike, Mike had this whole moving dance thing going on when he was playing... quite cool. Now Dave, Dave is a multitalented guy I must say. He's got the guitar and then doing vocals and the facial expressions... that is an instrument of its own. All in all I really enjoyed watching them play. It doesn't hurt that the guys in this band are extremely nice. I'm not sure if they really want me calling them nice though… so maybe I should say.... hip... or cool... or awesome… or… tite... ya anyways... For the last… I think it is 14 months Hijack the Disco has been working on their new album, which should be out in September? Man, I'm only 15 and I’m already loosing my memory. So when it does come out everyone should pick it up. If these guys sound this good live... The CD should be insane.

On another note, I always like meeting new people at shows. Like tonight, I met this guy named Mario. That provided some entertainment.. heh... Anyways, it turns out he is a friend of Willo. Willo has a quite more established blog called Willo Toons. It's pretty well known in the area. This is also a blog my brother told me to check out when I was getting my blog together. So yes... that was cool.

Now maybe I should explain the whole coke thing... This coke being the soda. Those of you hoping for a humorous story about me coming across someone snorting coke off a toilet seat, or anything else along those lines (haha… pun intended), sorry. It all started because Trevor owed me a coke. I am not sure what it is, but BOTH has the best coke I have ever tasted. I have no clue why, and not just better than coke from a fountain... I mean canned coke and bottled coke, it even gives the coke in Mexico a run for its money. And anyone that really knows me knows I happen to love coke. So yes... If you ever want some really really really good coke, stop by BOTH.

This has been an update from Paige... haha wow... it just turned 12.. so much for getting this posted the same day as the show... but hey I haven’t gone to sleep yet.. in my book it counts.

Check out Hijack the Disco:
http://www.hijackthedisco.com/main.php (this site designed by Mike of Hijack the Disco)
http://www.myspace.com/hijackthedisco

Check out Willo's Blog:
http://www.willotoons.com/

Why I love Bullets and Octane

So maybe I went a little too video crazy today... well.. 2 videos isnt bad... i just love finding new features avalable to use on this blog.. and i dont see the point in not making good use of them?

A Little Treat

Sorry this isnt the best quality video. Above is a video of Dave Smallen preforming Hallelujah at the Namaste Lounge, Santa Cruz, CA.

Almost Caught Up

Where does the time go? I've been meaning to write this for the past week. Well, at least I'm doing it now. So what shows do I have to cover since the last post? hmmmm... June 2nd was a show at foothill high school...and then the 9th was a show at bottom of the hill. .... I guess that's it. So here we go...


The Matches, Normal Like You (their CD release), Street to Nowhere, Posterboy, and another band I can’t remember the name of were playing Foothill High School. My friend Nick and I went to check it out. The opening band of which I can't remember the name was actually pretty good and showed a lot of stage presence. Posterboy played between sets... that was interesting... Street to Nowhere was fantastic. I think my friend Nick is the best to take to STN shows. We both just love what they have going on. And then came the interesting and rather annoying part. I'm not a huge fan of Normal Like You but they are pretty cool. There were rules for no stage diving, moshing, or crowd surfing. When it came to my friend breaking the moshing one, the Vice Principal had no problem fully enforcing them. Nick was in a 6 person mosh p, barely even a pit, he didn’t start it either but the guy came over grabbed his shirt and dragged him out of the room not bothering with all the other kids in it. Now I think it was his white shirt that got him screwed but the VP was on a power trip as well. My friend was the only one to get kicked out the whole set. But hey, what can ya do you know? So I spent the rest of the night going back n forth from the room to outside to chill with Nick. The Matches played and awesome set and I chilled with Dave Smallen of Street To Nowhere for a bit. We both agree Scratched Out by the Matches was so much better with the Billy Joel reference. So that show was cool besides the whole thing with my friend getting kicked out.


Show 2: Street To Nowhere was playing bottom of the hill last Friday. I couldn’t find a ride for the life of me, so as a last resort I had my mom come to the show with Nick and me. But that’s cool, I'm pretty secure with myself, at least enough to chill with my mom as a show. El Olio Wolof opened. I thought their set would never end. Their sound was pretty damn trippy psychedelic. I like it, but I couldn’t listen to it for that long. Street To Nowhere was co-headlining with the Botticellis. I didn’t stay for the Botticellis but STN was damn good but I got really sick of some of the kids there. I also saw Ben of Dear Kerosene at the show. He's a pretty chill guy. He offered a free ticket to BFD but I had plans, which sucks but I don' t bail on friends. So I said my hellos and goodbyes and went on my way.


As for news about STN, they just signed with Capitol Records. A big congratulation goes out to them. I know it has been hard for 'em to pick whom to entrust with their album Charmingly Awkward. They are also releasing a 7" with Agent Records, this including a brilliant cover of Hallelujah. Music world get ready. These guys will rule.


What shows are coming up?...
Full on Flyhead has a CD release at Tower Records tomorrow night in Concord.
I'm going to check out Hijack the Disco at BOTH this thursday which should be, for lack of a better word, groovy.
Shakey Bones is playing the 924 Gilman on sat.
The Common Heard @ Ashkenaz June 18th
Dreams Die First @ Tower Records in Concord on June 20th
Media Blackout @ Bourbon Street on June 21st
A band showdown @ Historic Sweets Ballroom on June 23rd
One June 29th My Former Self is playing BOTH and Dreams Die First is playing Bourbon Street

This has been an update by Paige. Please come again.

E>


On another note.. I apologize for any/all misspelled words and misused grammar. I've never been very good with the stuff.

Continuation

Okay, this is 2 weeks after I wrote the rant about the red house. Man I’ve been busy, but now I’m out of school and on summer break so bring on the shows and the Blog entries. I don’t really remember which shows there were between the Mister Loveless one I was talking about before and the show I went to with my brother… so… we’ll start with that 1 and catch up on the shows I’ve been to since then.


As I was saying, my brother, Eric Ervin, came into town. We decided to check out the Dear Kerosene (formerly io and dear static) CD release show. So here’s an account of that nights festivities. Eric stopped by my house and picked me up after meeting with the lead singer of Broken Dolls, Dylan DiMartini. Eric and I headed out to the city before the show started… we had major time to kill so we dropped by a friends restaurant. We met up with Eric’s girlfriend’s brother… I think… heh… anyways he was with this other rather … interesting… character. We were told he was 40 and still lived with his mom. The guy had that grunge washed up surfer look and was quite entertaining. We spent our time there discussing local bands, venues and the whole punk scene which then branched off into a conversation about skinheads and nazi bands. After that, the highlight of my night took place... but due to its content I can't post it. So after that Eric and I got out of there and headed over to Amoeba records. He had to pick up the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs CD. We then headed over the Bottom of the Hill and made it there just at 7. We said hi to Ben Flanagan of Dear Kerosene and hooked up with Dylan DiMartini and then left to have dinner with they guys of Hijack the Disco at the Connecticut Yankee. Ben stopped by to get food and say hi again. Once everyone had their fill of beer…beside me n Dylan, we headed back to the venue to catch the opening band, well at least Dylan and I. Eric went back to the car with 2 of the guys in Hijack the Disco… to listen to a CD… So the opening band, I don’t remember their name anymore but they weren’t anything real special. Push To Talk was second to go on and then Audrye Sessions. I must say Audrye Sessions is a damn good band. During all this Eric and I made our rounds and I met John Paulsen of Talking House Productions and Aaron of Agent Records. We also had conversations with one of the members of Facing New York and Dave Smallen of Street To Nowhere. Then Dear Kerosene played. I must say they exceeded my expectations and rocked it out. It was a great/awesome set. You should be hearing more of them in the future. The lovely night ended with sitting in traffic for an hour trying to get on the only on ramp in the city to the bay bridge.


So, other shows. I went with my friend Nick Shea to the Chronicle Pavilion in Concord. It… basically… sucked. But hey, I guess I’m just used to seeing more experienced performers? The metal bands were pretty damn good. I did like Media Blackout, Killit, The Ax Affect, and Hysteria. In the end Posterboy won. Don’t ask me why… like hell I should know. The makeup of that band made no sense. One guy was kinda dorky and the other looked like he should be in Simple Plan. One stood there and sang and played his guitar, the other ran around the stage playing his guitar. Both these guitars were acoustic might I add. Maybe it’s just not my style of music. Even with this awkward appearance they seem to be appealing to some and tend to grow on you. So again… the show was a bust. Then the next day or the day after that… I don’t remember that kind of stuff I read a review on it. Basically it preached the brilliance of all the bands that played especially Posterboy. I didn’t know whether to laugh hysterically or become deeply depressed at the writers ignorance. It was evident this person hadn’t been to ANY other local shows and seen some of the other high school bands around that weren’t in this battle or they wouldn’t have said how amazed they were at this so called talent these bands had… Maybe I’m just full of myself though.

Next show: The Matches and MC Lars were doing their Not Punk Rock tour and my sister and I went to Slims to check that out. Something With Numbers opened and they were pretty damn good. I just loved how the lead singer danced. Whole Wheat Bread came on after them and man… awesomely awesome? The guys had great stage presence and played great. (I think I need to expand my vocabulary when it comes to adjectives) Seriously… this band was groovy (does that work?) so good I actually bought a CD, and I never buy CDs. MC Lars was next. It was everything I expected and those were high expectations. The Matches were just grand, as usual. Shawn started to reminisce during the set, talking about the good ol’ days of icast and all that stuff. It was rather cute. So that show was pretty enjoyable.

AND AGAIN, TO BE CONTINUED...

To learn more about the people/bands spoken of above check out these sites:

Eric Ervin:
http://www.myspace.com/ericervin
http://www.ericervinlaw.com/index.html

Broken Dolls:
http://www.myspace.com/brokendolls
http://www.brokendollsband.com/

Dear Kerosene:
http://www.myspace.com/iorock
http://www.dearkerosene.com/

Hijack the Disco:
http://www.myspace.com/hijackthedisco
http://www.hijackthedisco.com/main.php


Push To Talk:
http://www.myspace.com/pushtotalk
http://www.pushtotalkrock.com/

Audrye Sessions:
http://www.myspace.com/audryesessions


John Paulsen of talking house productions:
http://www.myspace.com/talkinghouse
http://thpro.com/

Aaron of Agent Records:
http://www.myspace.com/agentaaron
http://www.agentrecords.com/index.php

Facing New York:
http://www.myspace.com/facingnewyork
http://www.facingnewyork.com/

Street To Nowhere:
http://www.myspace.com/streettonowhere
http://www.streettonowhere.com/

Media Blackout:
http://www.myspace.com/mblackout

Killit:
http://www.myspace.com/killitmetal

The Ax Effect:
http://www.myspace.com/theaxeffect1

Hysteria:
http://www.myspace.com/hysteriabrentwood

Posterboy:
http://www.myspace.com/posterboyrock
http://www.posterboyrock.com/

The Matches:
http://www.myspace.com/thematches
http://www.thematches.com/

MC Lars:
http://www.myspace.com/mclars
http://www.somethingwithnumbers.net/

Whole Wheat Bread:
http://www.myspace.com/wholewheatbread
http://www.wholewheatbread.net/indexIE6.html

I'm really not that hard to please, but...

(this post was written 2 weeks ago.. sorry i just got around to posting it)

Hey whats up? So i haven't posted anything on here in a bit.. and i have some updates. I've been to a few shows.. none worth talking about all that much... well.. besides the 2 most recent. I've also gone to a few new venues... wasn't exactly impressed... And my brother came back in town. So basically this is what has been going on.

A couple weeks ago.. i think around 3 i checked out the Red House in Walnut Creek. Before it opened there was a whole bunch of hype about this venue/practice space/what ever else they got going on there considering it is Walnut Creek and usually to go to a good venue, at least for me, you gotta drive out to Oakland/SF. The Red House Studios is a great opportunity for high school kids aspiring to become rock stars for a chance to learn and play. In my opinion it fits in perfectly with the ever growing costs of everything in this lovely city of Walnut Creek. I was there to check out 2 bands, The Catholic Comb and Mister Loveless. So 10 bucks and 1 1/2 hours after the doors opened... the opening band went on... Good but not great. The doorman also told me that the sound in this place had been compared by many to venues like Bottom of the Hill and was even said to be better. Well I'm not quite sure what they were smoking but it sounded like shit. Not to mention the room with the band playing was miniature with double doors placed maybe 15 feet away from the stage so when someone left 'cause they thought the band sucked the artists had a perfect view. It was cramped yet there were tons of other rooms to go into. But hey enough about me ragging on the place if people want to they can go ahead and pay 10 bucks to see bands that are paying to be able to play there. It's fine with me. I must add that besides the cramped space, over charging, and bad sound, The Catholic Comb and Mister Loveless played great. And speaking of them… these 2 bands are playing at Tower Records in Concord June 6th. It’s a free show as well. Oh.. my friendjsut dropped by. I gots to go.


If you would like to know more about the afore mentioned bands you can check out their websites:

The Catholic Comb:
http://www.myspace.com/thecatholiccomb


Mister Loveless:
http://www.myspace.com/misterloveless
http://www.misterloveless.com/


...TO BE CONTINUED

MC Lars, kids who hate rap, and all that jazz

I have been listening to MC Lars... A LOT lately... and ya... So ya.. the other day i was talking to this kid i know and he was going on about how he hates rap.. and so i pointed out to him that MC Lars is rap. Being that after i had mentioned MC lars to him a week earlier and the next day my friend had been going on and on about how awesome MC Lars was... after i made my comment he just shut up. And I'm not really sure what jazz has to do with this entry... but i like saying "and all that jazz" (ahhah! there is it's point).

Really MC Lars has the whole punk / rap genre going on.. awesome sound really. Some great songs like Signing Emo, Download This Song, Hot Topic is NOT Punk Rock, Internet Relationships and Space Game by him. Each song has its own originality factor even though he talks about alot of things that everyone has already poking fun at.. he takes it to the next, and better level. This making him somewhat of a voice of our generation.

Last night MC Lars played Bottom of the Hill in SF and the Matches played backup. He also has a show in Austin Texas @ Maggie Mae's and his CD release show for The Graduate coming up in New York at the Mercury Lounge 21+.. but it is sold out. After these he is fleeing the country to tour around the UK ish area. He is one to admire in the music industry, releasing his albums on his own record label, Harris Records, and keeping everything about him and his post punk laptop music honest.

On another note... MC Lars has Sirius Satellite Radio Show! He is on Tuesday nights from 10-11 pm ET on channel 26. Not to mention for us bay area folks... Live 105.3 has been playing his song Hot Topic is NOT Punk Rock a lot. Also... currently he has been putting up a new song from The Graduate weekly.. as of now Rapgirl is up. Go check him out at these links:

• http://www.myspace.com/mclars

• http://www.mclars.com/

• http://www.purevolume.com/mclars

v THE MAN HIMSELF v

Street To Nowhere CD Release Show

Hey so, Paige Ervin here.. first official band/show/scene review/thoughts/comments/form of writing. I thought I'd start off with something i wrote back in November on the Street To Nowhere CD release show. I think it well defines where I am coming from and my thoughts and views on GOOD bay area music. Also.. Street To Nowhere was my first real step into the "scene" and so I figure this blog fits to be the first.


Band Members:
Dave Smallen: guitar and vocals
Bryce Freeman: bass
(and as of recent.. formerly of DESA)
Joey Bustos: drums


Yup.. i went to that tonight/yesterday... what ever your opinion is when you don't get home till 1:45 am and have a buzz like no natural or man made drug could give you from a show that will last for days, weeks, months, years. Truly inspirational.. The mood was like no other.. the bands; Street To Nowhere, DESA, Audrye Sessions and Push To Talk, all the pinpoint of perfection. I would expect no less because they.. especially Dave Smallen of Street To Nowhere poored their hearts and souls (not to mention the last 3 years of Dave's life) into this release show, the final step, the goal. In the Charmingly Awkward CD case there is a little note from Dave.. it talks about what everyone went through during the making of the CD...he goes on to thank anyone imaginable.. and really.. I think we should be thanking him.. the show was wonderful.. beyond wonderful... you lost yourself in the music.. and there you were with nothing else worth thinking about.. nothing else worth doing.. just being there in the crowd.. looking over the really tall guy with a mohawk smack dab in the middle.. straining to see Dave, Bryce, and whoever the fuck else happened to come on stage during the set's expressions. You just absorb everything. This was no doubt the best Street To Nowhere show I've been to.. I hope to maybe go to one even better one day... but going to one better is highly unlikely.. because.. if the show was better.. it would be beyond perfection... but then again Dave Smallen... can take it even further than that. i sat there.. (well stood there) in the crowd.. and I just knew... THIS is what I wana be involved in for my life. Bands.. producing.. shows... friends... late night recordings and crashing on couches after shows... chilling back stage... at the end of a really great set getting up on stage with all the bands friends and joining in in singing the end of the last song... (in this case being Tipsy) THIS IS IT! and I knew right then and there.. there aint nothing better. And what I just said reminds me a lot of in the movie Almost Famous.. where the older sister of Willian leaves a note for him in her record collection she left behind for him after escaping to become a stewardess telling William to listen to the album Tommy by the Who with a candle burning and he will see his entire future .. and it just makes me think hey.. If someone can get a near or same reaction to an "up n coming" band... their potential must be insane... its now 2:45 am... and I've said all i can say about the show.. and yet I've barely scratched the surface... it was all just.... Charmingly Awkward.


Now back to the present. Last night the guys of Street To Nowhere were on soundcheck with AAron Axelson of Live 105.3. During the interview thing Dave mentioned something about THE BAY AREA music scene has the potential of becoming what Seattle was in the 90's. and its true.. at the moment there are some great bands coming out of the SF area.. and everyone hopes even more to come.



To check out Street To Nowhere you can visit:

http://www.streettonowhere.com/

or their myspace

http://www.myspace.com/streettonowhere.com/



To see Street To Nowhere live here are some shows they have coming up:


Mar 3 2006 9:00P
Cafe Du Nord w/ Birdmonster & The 88
San Francisco, CA
21+

Mar 5 2006 5:00P
The Echo [ALL AGES - EARLY BBQ SHOW!!]
Los Angeles, CA

Mar 17 2006 8:00P
The Bean Bar
San Diego, CA

Mar 27 2006 7:30P
The Dip
Redding, CA

Mar 31 2006 8:00P
Bimbo's 365 Club [Noisepop! w/ Two Gallants]
San Francisco, CA
18+