The Rumble, Casbah, 10.10.09

Saturday night brought the most successful installment of The Rumble thus far, and that's not surprising as it was a great lineup and free for all. The night brought a lot of latecomers to the show catching The Blakes as they filtered in. The band started a tad early, it seemed, perhaps because they were also playing at Bar Pink later the same night, but they were great to watch, especially the drummer who was on fire.


Lady Dottie & The Diamonds brought their rocking music to a crowded dancefloor. Shamefully my pics blow, but we've all seen and love what Lady Dottie brings by now, right?

Then Fitz & The Tantrums took the stage and despite Fitz's cold, brought down some serious fun. Jake and I even worked in a slow dance. It appeared from all accounts that people enjoyed The Rumble and I hope that Fitz makes San Diego their home away from home because they certainly know how to bring a crowd to shake their asses. Including me...





After the show we decided to catch The Blakes second set at Pink and they seemed to enjoy their San Diego reception at both venues.

SXSW: Lady Dottie & the Diamonds Performance

Myself and Jeremy Glaholt of AVicious were riding around on bikes during a day off at SXSW and stopped in for a beer at a joint near a friend's house only to stumble onto some San Diego friends. M-Theory owner Eric Howarth was there with some of his bands and so I caught this performance by Lady Dottie & the Diamonds, jumped back on the bike and headed out to see more music. This so happen to be one of the best days I have had in a very long time. More SXSW video coming soon but feel free to follow us on Twitter, YouTube or check out our blog as well.

StayClassy.org Tailgate with Flobots

StayClassy is a social group that puts on events around San Diego and donates proceeds to local charities. They're having their 3rd annual tailgate party on July 12. Through next Thursday, tickets are only $10. That includes the tailgate party (at the lot adjacent PetCo Park ) featuring FloBots, Doomtree w/P.O.S., Dirty Sweet, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, and Stepping Feet. The ticket also includes a ticket to the Padres game that evening, as well as an afterparty at the Fleetwood with Shark Attack.

Click here for tickets and more information.

Hi Speed Soul Records Signs Lady Dottie & The Diamonds

Talk about local love! Hi-Speed Soul is the label owned by the peeps over at M-Theory. Adam Franklin (of Swervedriver) is on the label, and they've also reissued an early Nada Surf EP. Now, they've announced that they've signed Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, giving some local love all around. Details on the release are forthcoming.

In other M-Theory news, mark your calendars for some great in-stores they have lined up...Tuesday, February 5 at 6 pm, they've got Grand Ole Party, with an after party at Starlite. A week later, on Wednesday, February 13 at 6, they'll have an in-store with Louis XIV who will be playing an acoustic set and hanging around for autographs.

I have a feeling Heather and Eric might have to keep growing that store...

Cash'd Out Wins $20K

Congrats to Cash'd Out who walked away from Viejas' ultimate cover band contest with $20,000. 2nd Place went to Detroit Underground ($8k) and 3rd Place went to Crush ($4k). Apparently people in the audience were not happy that Lady Dottie and The Diamonds didn't place. You can read all of Ed Decker's account of the contest here.

Overdue Newsy Bits: Switchfoot Goes Independent, SDMA, Viejas

I know I haven't posted any Newsy Bits in a while, but all you music types keep telling me shit that is NFB (not for blogging) and I'm over here trying to do my thing, all the while keeping all your little dirty secrets. no fun. boo.

Anyway, there are a couple noteworthy things happening around town that I thought I'd mention.

First, Jon Foreman announced on Thursday that Switchfoot and Sony have parted ways and will now be releasing their music, as well as his solo stuff independently.

greetings everybody!

I've got some exciting news: after several years of trying to make
things work over at Columbia we have officially severed our ties with
sony to pursue making music independently. We are thankful for the
incredible success that our partnership has produced over the years,
yet within this ever changing business there can arise differences in
vision and goals. These differences have now come to a point where we
feel like parting ways would be best for us, and best for sony.

As a hands-on band, we feel so grateful for our newfound freedom. We
are continually dreaming up ways to bridge the gap between the
audience and the stage; this feels like an incredible step in that
direction. A huge thank you to bob, amy, nicole and tim over at
columbia who were there from the beginning. We would also like to
thank our musical family here in the states and abroad for sticking
with us through these columbia years. We couldn't have done it
without you!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

We'll have more information for you as things shape up. In the
meantime, here are several projects already in the works for the next
year:

-four jon foreman solo ep's
(tentatively titled fall, winter, spring, and summer)
-the real sean jon
(a collaboration between jon foreman and sean watkins of nickel creek fame)
-a new switchfoot record in '08
(the first tracks 13 tracks were cut this week!)

For tour dates and more information, check out Switchfoot's blog here.
*****
I didn't previously mention that the nominees for this year's San Diego Music Awards have been released this week and are now open for public voting. I bullied my way into getting a ballot and I'm pleased to see several of my nominees made the cut (even if for different categories than I chose) and I only didn't mention it earlier because certain people get so batty apeshit pissy about the nominees year after year. Here's the thing...it's not always fair, a lot of people get left out, and bands fall into categories you may not like. Get over it. 90% of those CDs you send in sit unopened in Kevin Hellman's home office. Such is life. Bitch bitch, whine whine. People who say they care about local music would do a better service to the community by actually going out to see local bands every once in a while, contributing something instead of always taking. Anyway, end of rant...go vote for the SDMA's here.
*****
If you've got an open Sunday evening, consider heading out to Viejas Casino to show some love as local favorites Cash's Out and Lady Dottie and the Diamonds compete for $20,000 in the best cover band competition being held. Tomorrow night are the finals and both are deserving bands, but I'd have to show my love to Lady Dottie for all those Monday nights they've gotten me through at the Tower Bar. The contest finals are at 8 in the Dreamcatcher Showroom.
*****
that's all the news I can post here, the rest I'll have to keep mum on till I'm given the ok to blab about it all. ciao for now.

Big Night Out for New Years

If I actually go out on New Year's Eve, I might opt to go to this. I don't know, though...I'm not really a fan of going any further than the Ken Club on rookie night holidays...New Years, St Paddy's, 4th of July, etc...the revellers aren't trained boozers like I am. We'll see...

San Diego CityBeat once again is proud to present Big Night San Diego -- at
the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina...San Diego's biggest New Years Eve
event!

Tickets Are ALL-INCLUSIVE: * ALL DRINKS & FOOD INCLUDED * * Twelve
Unique Party Areas * * SIX Dance Floors * * Fourteen PARTY Bands & DJ's* *
Massive Midnight Celebration * * Discounted Hotel Rooms * * Party Favors &
More! *

Try your luck on the tables in the Vegas Casino Lounge - get your groove on
in the Retro Zone and the Electronica Zone, chill out at the Luau Lounge, or, if
you prefer the N'Orleans style of fun, get your beads on in the CityBeat Mardi
Gras Zone.

This year's musical lineup includes Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, Flock
of 80's, Common Sense, Blasphemous Guitars, Cover Me Badd and many more popular
acts to be announced.

Vinyl Radio! Bring it!

"oh, it's already been broughten"

Last night was a successful night at the Beauty Bar for Poprocks and Tim Pyles. Granted, last Monday was a Supersuckers/New York Dolls show on the same night, and I think there was something at HoB, too...but it was nice to see a lot of people come out and support local music on a Monday night, compared to the 13 of us who were there last week. Again, it was nice to see other bands coming out, too...The Roman Spring and Republic of Letters were both represented. Anyone I didn't see?

The opening act was a guy named Jon Wesley from Chico. He played guitar and harp which I have a weakness for (i.e. Rocky Votolato). His music had a little more twang in it but he was really good. Toward the end of his set, he got all excited and asked if we wanted to hear a song by The Band. "I've just discovered them!" Isn't it cool when you get turned on to classics? Not everyone grew up with parents listening to Zep or even the Beatles, sometimes you discover these things later and it opens up a whole new world for you, so good for you, Jon Wesley. I bought a $5 cd and look forward to listening since it's recorded with a full band, not just him.

Next up were The Mints. I felt their set was really strong to start but some of the latter songs of the set lost my interest. When you're completely unfamiliar with a band, it's easy to feel like every song sounds the same after a while if you don't really pay attention...and after a couple cocktails, I admit I was distracted. This is true with any band. A friend of mine felt that way at the Silversun Pickups show at HoB whereas I was familiar with their album and thought they were rad. So, sorry Mints, I'll pay better attention next time. I do think the frontman is strong and can lead the band to good places. There were a couple songs that the vocals reminded me of Farside, but Joe told me that was a sacriligious comparison...nobody can touch Farside. I'm standing by it. All in all, I recommend seeing this band for yourself. On a separate note, if you do go see them, check out the guns on the drummer. Holy shit is all I'm saying.

Finally, Vinyl Radio. My friendship with these guys may suggest a bias, but if I didn't truly enjoy them I would be staying home on Thursday to watch Gray's Anatomy instead of going to their show at SDSC. When a band is having fun, there is no way not to vibe off of it which works cyclically back at the band who then feels the energy of the crowd. There was some booty shaking in the crowd and the telltale sign is that people stayed watching them from start to finish. Here's a bit of info: Vinyl Radio had a demo that they used to hand out at shows. They recorded another disc of new material but due to human error, the wrong tracks were sent to the CD press. So, the new stuff is on hold until the band can get replacement CDs and then handstuff each jewel box with the new disc. Let's hope that happens soon.

After the show, a bunch of us headed to the Tower Bar for Lady Dottie and The Diamonds. If you are one of the 5 people who have not been to see them at the Tower Bar, get on it! Seeing the band at Henry's or House of Blues just is not the same. The set doesn't change much, but it doesn't need to. Matt even got me to dance, and I do not dance. Go! And take some friends that you can be completely silly in front of. You will look like an asshole if you're too cool to let loose. And nobody likes and asshole.

Beauty Bar, The Tower Bar, 11/6

I've deleted all my fliers until I can resize them. I'm lazy right now. I didn't really plan on drinking last night, but Bryant was behind the bar at the Beauty Bar and he hooked up my first one. Troy Johnson and Scott Richison of FoxRox were there with Dan (from Cooler mail) We hung out a while. I'm just gonna skip a review on the bands because I am not ready to slam anyone. I will say the "bands" were not really "bands". The first guy (no introductions so I have no idea which he was) was an Asian dude in a red Michael Jackson-like jacket with a laptop and a voice reminiscent of Fields of the Niphilim. The second act was a dude on guitar and a dude on bass and another iBook with screensavers as their backdrop. Their drumbeats were really tinny. Jason was digging it, but he got there later, when the guitarist moved back behind a drumkit and had the iBook switched to playing some synthesized music. Scott, Troy and Dan all left, each leaving me their beers. (I had like $5 and I don't waste booze. What can I say?) Funny thing right now: Cold War Kids "We Used to Vacation" is on my stream of Indie 103.1. (Lyric: I promised to my wife and children, I'd never take another drink as long as I live")

Anyhow, Jason and I stuck around until the "band" finished and decided to go to the Tower Bar for Lady Dottie and The Diamonds. It was a typically jammed house and she never disappoints. The floor was kinda nasty with beer all over, but the kids were shaking their booties, so I guess that's all that matters.

For the record, I was home by 1 but stayed up to watch The Daily Show. What is wrong with me??? I'm gonna be dead at Sia tonight.