Los Angeles band Willoughby opened for Band of Horses last Saturday at the Fox Theater in Pomona, which has been restored to its original art-deco splendor after being closed in 2002. This little Inland Empire city can be proud of bringing a new mid-size venue onboard beside other beautifully-restored theaters of the L.A. area like the Wiltern, the El Rey, and the Avalon. In the few months since its re-opening, the Fox has hosted Wilco and next week will have Ween and L.A. natives Airborne Toxic Event. Gus Seyffert (above) is the guy who [...]
I am still opening only about one out of two hundred music e-mails, but the ones I have managed to open and actually listen to have been very impressive. These two tracks from San Francisco's Identical Homes' new album Machine Made Moods are too wonderful not to want to share. I am also nuts about the fourth track, "Carl's Lament," which is really two songs in the same track. The album title perfectly describes the electronica-on-acid, floating-on-air ambiance of songs that slowly melt onto skittering beats. Hypnotic, like the sonic equivalent of a [...]
Well, I just opened an e-mail and got a kick in the pants to start blogging again. The band responsible is The Voyces, and their third full-length, their second with Planting Seeds Records, is titled Let Me Die In Southern California . Their lyrics about desert winds and Highway 101 make me smile. The songs have that sound you would expect of a southern California band-an mix of gentle rock with a dash of country, blended smooth with folk sensibilities. In addition to the title song, I encourage you to listen to "It Whispers" on [...]
First, I never intended to disappear like this. It started weeks ago when I suddenly got a couple of big, paying jobs one after the other. As an on-call technical editor, I can't predict or control when that happens, and when it does it trumps blogging and everything else. Still, I have often managed to squeeze some blog posts in while working, but this time I didn't try. And I realized that no catastrophe occurred, and my obsession about having to blog began to ease and it felt good. Last weekend we saw [...]
Division Day's new album Visitation is due for release August 18, and I can hardly wait. The title track and "Devil Light" are true to the sound they established on 2007's Bear Trap Island . I recently put Bear Trap Island back on my mp3 player and was instantly reminded of how much I liked it and why. Lead singer Rohner Stegnitz's vocals and keys combined with the dynamics of the rest of the band make a distinctive mark despite the different paces and tones of the tracks. [...]
It's mid-July, and here come the tomatoes! Little grape tomatoes, pear-shaped yellow tomatoes, and gobs of the most ginormous tomatoes I have ever grown. The big one above is almost the size of a softball. This is only what I picked yesterday. A lot more are on the way. Soon we will be eating them for lunch and dinner and on our breakfast cereal and giving them away to neighbors and co-workers. Sadly, I cannot figure out how to make them available to you for download. This photo is the only way they digitize. [...]
Mr. Folkie and I were warned several times before our trip that food in China would be different from Chinese food in the U.S. This was true, but I think we were better-prepared than a lot of Americans in that we like trying unusual foods, and we eat and drink soy products as a regular part of our diet. Chinese restaurant dishes [...]
There was no shortage of a variety of good, fresh food wherever we visited in China. A small grocery store around the corner from our hostel in Beijing carried an amazing assortment of chicken and duck eggs; and while their produce was not great, right outside in the alley was a huge selection of fruits and vegetables (first photo in the gallery). Above, smarmy advertising looks the same everywhere! Grocery shopping in China [...]
I hope you can stand some more photos from my China trip. I haven't even scratched the surface of the images we took. Indie Mom said she wanted me to take a photo of everything we ate, and we nearly did. These are some of the things we saw and ate from street vendors. Soon to follow, grocery store shopping and restaurants. Above, noodles waiting for sauce in a shop window near the Buddhist temple in Chengdu. I like the textures in this nearly monochromatic shot. [...]
In 2005 Mark Hamilton (wearing the hat in the photo above) returned home to Calgary from Scotland with a broken heart and a head full of inspiration that he poured into his band Woodpigeon. He is quoted as saying that Woodpigeon's latest album, Treasury Library Canada , the followup to the 2008 debut Songbook , helped him figure out particularly what the word home truly means to him. So if you've ever left someone or had someone leave you, or if you have ever left a place and wished you were back there, or you were [...]
Just try googling eye images for some squirm-inducing fun. That should prepare you for the literally eye-popping image that illustrates Contrast Podcast #171 . I decided I would rather spend a ridiculous amount of time going through my own photos for a good eye shot. The above turned out to be my favorite. Whose eyes are those? Click on the photograph to see. My choice for the podcast was this great old favorite of mine by a short-lived Portland band called Hazel, whose history I covered in my very first Time [...]
Here it is Friday again already. I meant to get at least one other post up this week, but other things got in the way. Boring things, but necessary. You know how that is. Here are more photos from our China trip last month. T-shirts with English text can be seen everywhere in China, but most of the manufacturers and wearers are obviously unaware of the meaning. I also own shirts with Chinese characters on them, and I don't know what they say either. Now I am afraid to wear them [...]
I am celebrating the Fourth with a photo of my beautiful state flower, the golden poppy. These are from earlier this spring, but I still have a few hanging on against the summer heat. While I picked these bands for the word "states" in their name, they are all U.S. artists, and each of these albums deserves its own review because the songs are so good. This is a beautiful album from Los Angeles' State Shirt. Give your ears a special present and listen to more of the songs. You will want [...]
Better late than never, right? First a disclaimer: I am sure that every tourist, no matter what their native language and wherever they go, encounters translations in other countries that display a lack of deep knowledge of their language. In every language there are subtle meanings that aren't explained in word-to-word translation dictionaries. So I am not making fun of our Chinese hosts, but we did enjoy the humor in these signs. The lovely painting above was hung in the ladies' restroom of a very nice vegetarian restaurant in Beijing, which I [...]
Several weeks ago, members of the Contrast Podcast traded mixed CDs on an alphabetical theme. I was given the Letter U, to find bands and songs beginning with that letter, for Agnes at It All Started With Carbon Monoxide . Nat at Mini-Obs sent me a CD based on the Letter T. Along with the CD, she sent me the postcard above. The first thing I thought was, "Look at the ass on that Amish boy!" Yes, even grandmas can appreciate a firm butt. We had to [...]
Where have I been? Well, just as I was getting myself back together from the China trip, my computer decided it would only boot up in Safe Mode. Not good. It took some time to get all my files to a safe location and then begin the long process of formatting the hard drive and reinstalling all the programs and stuff. I won't bore you with the geeky details. It's like someone telling you about their surgery-all you really want to know is that it all came out OK. And it did [...]
This photo, taken at Leshan, China, where we saw the Grand Buddha (more photos soon), reminds me that although one step doesn't seem like much, when we look back we have come a long way. I need that perspective right now. It's been tough getting back into a routine around here since our trip. I have had to spend a lot of time outside on the property, clearing brush and feeding the woodchipper in preparation for the inevitable fire season. Since we are out in the country in southern California, this is a serious endeavor. [...]
The theme for Contrast Podcast #167 is "Home," because podcast master Tim Young and his wife will be leaving theirs in the UK soon to relocate to France. I am still recovering myself from being away from home for 15 days. I had thought that jetlag would be easier in this direction, but I'm only just getting back into normal sleeping patterns. I have, however, stopped stopped waking up in wee morning hours wondering which China hotel room I am in. Above, a mirror in the imperial bedroom at the Forbidden City. [...]
Several weeks ago, members of the Contrast Podcast traded mixed CDs on an alphabetical theme. I was given the Letter U, to find bands and songs beginning with that letter, for Agnes at It All Started With Carbon Monoxide . Nat at Mini-Obs sent me a CD based on the Letter T. Along with the CD, she sent me the postcard above. The first thing I thought was, "Look at the ass on that Amish boy!" Yes, even grandmas can appreciate a firm butt. We had to [...]
"Do you have any photos of 'June Gloom'?" I asked my husband last night. "Well," he said,"It's hardly the think that makes you grab your camera." So right. June Gloom in coastal California is pretty dull. Indie Mom and I lived in the desert only about an hour away for over 20 years and never heard of it until we both moved closer to the coastline. June Gloom (and her pal May Gray) is an early summer weather pattern that occurs not just in California but on many west coastlines around the world, where moist breezes [...]
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Check Out: d’Eon – “Transparency pt. II”
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
KNIFE PARTY – RAGE VALLEY EP
