Upcoming Shows: The Dimes, Tower of Power, and The French Semester

Wow this week is a busy one! There are tons of great acts making their way through our fair Rose City right now:

Up this evening are The Dimes, playing for the Kink FM Summer Concert Series in Bridgeport Village at 6:30pm. Now I reviewed The Dimes before when I heard them at the Doug Fir, and I can't emphasize enough how much I connected with their amazing and original harmonized sound. These guys have a great time on stage, dancing and being goofy, and you can really feel the energy and enthusiasm they put into their music. Not to mention, all of the guys, as individuals, are extremely talented musicians. I'm hoping tonight to hear some of their unrecorded tracks like "Paul Revere", as well as music from their new album, The Silent Generation (the best ones are "Salt & Foam" and "Paul Kern Can't Sleep"). The handsome (that's right, I said it) and talented Ehren Ebbage, The Dimes' acoustic guitarist, will be flying solo tonight for his own gig at the Alberta Street Pub happy hour show.

On Sunday I'll be checking out Tower of Power and The Crusaders for the Oregon Zoo's Summer Outdoor Concert Series. I am a HUGE fan of Tower of Power, but I'll admit that I'm a bit curious to hear what these guys sound like live after more than 30 years playing together. On a side note, if you're into that whole soul/funk/jazz sound, you'll like The Essentials. They're a ten-man (and woman) band from Eugene, OR-- home to the Ducks and cross country running and Coconut Bliss Ice Cream. One of my buddies from college plays the alto saxaphone and was a member of the band for a while, which is how I discovered these guys. Several members of the band are actually students majoring in Music at the University of Oregon, which is probably why they sound so amazing. Unfortunately, The Essentials won't be visiting Portland till November 15 at the White Eagle Saloon, which totally sucks because they are AWESOME. Until then, you should visit their website to preview some of their tunes.

Lastly, I was lucky enough to receive an email from Los Angeles band The French Semester letting me know about their tour stop in Portland on August 19th, at the Towne Lounge. Now I hadn't heard these guys before, but I am pretty psyched they gave me a shout out, because after listening to a few of their tracks on Myspace (I really loved "Fourteen") I'm gonna see if I can finagle the NW Noise crew into coming to the Aug 19th show. The French Semester's Myspace page is definitely worth a look if you like indie legends Rain Parade, the Stone Roses, or GBV.

The French Semester

Currently revolving on my digital turntable...

"Fourteen" - The French Semester
"Boogie Wonderland" - Earth Wind & Fire
"Sinnerman" - Nina Simone
"Peachy" - Missy Higgins
"Duncan" - Paul Simon
"Business Time" - Flight of the Conchords
"Lebanese Blonde" - Thievery Corporation

Happy Thursday!

Monday

I often fantasize about doing this.

A silly video about fonts -- ALERT: nerdy designer humor

If you aren't a graphic designer or typographer, this video will not make you laugh. It will make you cry because it's so dumb. However, being a designer myself, I was amused by it. The worst part about it is I know all the fonts featured. I even have a favorite oh god somebody stop me.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Well, I’m back. (i.e. Hippie Family Reunion Highlights)

I wasn't able to get an interview with The Herbivores like I wanted, but I did come away with some good stories. Not only were The Herbivores playing, there were two other artists there, Olivia De La Cruz and State of Jefferson.

Herbivores frontman Jim Matthieson and his natty dreads

The Herbivores have a reggaeton/experimental/rock sound, and are led by frontman Jim Matthieson, who provides vocals and electric guitar. Jim is hard to miss because he has the longest dreadlocks I have ever seen, they drag on the ground wherever he walks. The lead guitarist is the talented Jay Roberts, son of the legendary jazz guitarist Howard Roberts, who recorded the eerie theme to the Twilight Zone television show. Roberts is the founder of Roberts Music Institute (RMI) in Seattle where he teaches classes and ensembles. In 1992, he won the Jimi Hendrix National Electric Guitar Competition in addition to being named Seattle’s Best Guitarist for 1992 and 1993.

Along with electric guitar, The Herbivores also experiment with brass, keyboards, an upright electric base, and an assortment of unusual instruments from mandolins to cowbells. The resulting sound was surprisingly well-blended and intuitive, even though I didn’t really appreciate the lyrics in one of their tracks, “Roll Me A Spliff” (haha).

Opening for The Herbivores was the very talented vocalist and guitarist Olivia De La Cruz from Chelan, WA. She has an innocent, folky sound and a writes all her own songs. Her best tracks were “So Sweet” and “Happy”. Following Olivia was The State of Jefferson, an indie/reggae fusion band from Ashland, OR. The State of Jefferson frequently travels with The Herbivores, raising awareness about the Seattle Hempfest and other social causes.

The State of Jefferson

Cool things: Seeing my numerous cousins and tons of family members at my family reunion, the grilled rib-eye steak (Wow! Not all hippies are vegetarian!), swimming in the pool, the amazing weather in NorCal, good music, homemade peach cobbler, dancing barefoot on the lawn, and good stories to tell.

Not-so-cool things: Big clouds of toker smoke everywhere, stereotypical rants about conspiracy theories, huge scary june beetles, and sand everywhere.

The Haves vs. The Have-Knots

If you're a fan of Aaron Karo, you'll know I borrowed the terms from this post title from him (and am hereby giving proper credit). Basically it's married people (Haves) versus unmarried people (Have-Knots). I never wanted to use this blog as a grievance outlet, but here goes.

A girlfriend of mine just got engaged and asked me to be in her wedding party. Being a Have-Knot myself, I didn't realize what I was getting into when I said yes. This is a commitment, man! Just to be a bridesmaid! Forget saying "I do". The wedding is next August and already I've accompanied her shopping for dresses, given opinions on videographers, interviewed two photographers, interviewed a deejay, helped her pick colors, flowers, favors, and themes, and we've still got a whole year to go.

The bride is Polish, so the wedding will be a Polish wedding. Her husband-to-be insisted on being completely uninvolved with the wedding itself, and so the bridesmaid brigade bravely forges on while he plays golf with the groomsmen. From what I understand the only things that change in a Polish wedding is the addition of a oczepiny ceremony, where the bride basically tosses her veil instead of the bouquet, and lots of drunken games of musical chairs. No Polish sausage for dinner as I had hoped.
I think the wedding is a test for the marriage. If you can get through that one day, nothing that comes down the line could get much worse. I think that's why most Have-Knots that I know are perfectly content in their unwed status.

It's strange to me that I've reached this point in my life now where a lot of people I know are getting hitched. I even went to the wedding of a couple who I saw through their entire courtship, from the drunken accidental hookup to the day he carried her over the threshold. Someday even I could be picking out flatware with somebody whose calls I continuously screened. To sum it all up, weddings are a weird, weird way of celebrating all of life's awkward moments.

This will brand me as a huge nerd forever, but...

The theatrical trailer for Frank Miller's The Spirit actually looks kind of cool. You might already know that I'm a huge sucker for comic books or anything comic book-related, and this film is based off of Will Eisner's similarly-titled comics from the 1950s. It's even done in traditional Frank Miller film-noir style, much like what we saw in Sin City.

I'm not holding my breath for a great story in The Spirit, though. Frank Miller has a ways to go in that department. I mean, Sin City was a beautiful film, but the story was no more than a fake blood fest, and not even the good Tarantino-style kind. I guess we'll see what happens this time around. In the meantime I'm going to ponder why everyone keeps casting Scarlett Johansson and her weird lips in every movie these days.

The Dimes & The Mother Hips @ the Doug Fir, Updates

I have been lagging behind on my posts on here... like the WALL-E post? That's week-old news (but he's still cute as ever). So here is another catch-up post to recap on seeing The Dimes and The Mother Hips at the Doug Fir Lounge last Friday.

As the newest staff writer for NW Noise, I tagged along with the boys to interview Ehren Ebbage from The Dimes. Ehren's a very talented acoustic guitarist and vocalist, and occasionally takes longs walks on the beach. The interview went great and you can hear it on the NW Noise website if Jason ever gets around to uploading it. The Dimes were amazing-- the best tracks were "The Liberator" and "Paul Kern Can't Sleep" from their album The Silent Generation (available on iTunes!), and a few as-of-yet unrecorded songs. The Dimes were followed by Bay Area band The Mother Hips, equally impressive with their Bob Dylan/Neil Young/Buffalo Springfield sound.

Just an FYI, I'll be reviewing Ehren Ebbage's solo album Ten Cent Souvenir and will be posting the review to the NW Noise website later this week. Stay tuned!

I'll be taking off to Weed, California (smirk) this weekend for a little family reunion, but while I'm in town I'll have the opportunity to see and interview The Herbivores, a Seattle-based reggaeton/experimental rock band. Think what you may, I don't really participate in "leisure activities", but I consider myself an equal-opportunity music enthusiast. At the very worst, the experience should provide me some good stories. So hold onto your pants until I get back on July 22nd.

And for funsies, here's my current playlist:

"The Way She Does It" - Ehren Ebbage
"Time We Had" - The Mother Hips
"She Sells Sanctuary" - The Cult
"Take A Walk On The Wild Side" - Lou Reed
"Smoke On The Water" - Deep Purple
"Kool Thing" - Sonic Youth
"PBJ and Thank You" - Valeri Lopez
"Hotel Song" - Regina Spektor
"Simple Kind of Life" - No Doubt
"Always The Sun" - The Stranglers
"For Us" - Pete Yorn

I Love WALL-E

WALL-E is, to-date, the best movie I've seen in more than a year. And, what more to add to my fixation than to see a live WALL-E gracing the blue carpet at the London premiere? He moves, he makes sounds, he waves at the crowd. What's more to love? As WALL-E would say, "Ta-Da!"

Out Of Your League Girl

http://www.outofyourleaguegirl.com/

“Like, there’s passionate nerds out there that like, write code. And those people are like billionaires, and you know how I am about money. Like your passion can take you anywhere. You just gotta find your passion and like, go for it. Like for instance, look at me. Like, I am out-of-your-league hot. Why? Because I’m so passionate about it.”

-Out Of Your League Girl on "Passion"

Have you seen these video shorts? Even though I am not a guy I can appreciate it. An “out-of-your-league” girl, named as such, babbles with sincerity about social issues directed at guys. It’s brilliant. They don’t even mention brands in it. They never advertised the campaign. The only thing I don’t get about the whole thing is the sponsoring company. Why Converse? I could see a soap or deodorant company, but shoes…? Are they trying to say that only nerds who write code wear Converse?

Anyway, expect to see a bunch of homemade imitations on YouTube later today.

Northwest Noise

I’m really excited to be coming on board with Northwest Noise, an indie music & media outlet featuring interviews, schedules, recent news, and podcasts of NW bands & musicians. My friend JP got me involved (Thanks JP!), and I’ll be out at the Doug Fir this Friday to interview with Ehren Ebbage from The Dimes. They’ll be playing at 9PM along with The Mother Hips.

Also, I won’t be able to go but the beautiful and talented Valeri Lopez is playing this Friday at the Camellia Lounge on NW Hoyt and 11^th. The cost is free and if you haven’t heard her, you shouldn’t miss it! She’s an absolutely amazing singer, and very talented guitarist.

Ms. Valeri Lopez

JP, this is for you

walrus, originally uploaded by Deluded Secretary.

It made me laugh.

George Carlin as he would want to be remembered

I know George Carlin died 2 weeks ago, but I forgot to make a mention for him, so when you read this make sure you say a cuss word in his honor. And let's not forget some of his finer moments of comedic ranting, such as his recent thoughts on nutball environmentalists: