Chris Cantore Show @ X1FMradio.com

For a long time I've been listening to Indie 103.1 online in the mornings. I'm a huge fan of Joe Escalante, but I also really like radio. Unlike my iPod, a good radio show can give you bits of news and information, make you laugh, and make you feel like a part of a larger community. I've enjoyed Mat Diablo's new morning show at 91X though I only hear about 10 minutes of it because it's over by the time I'm done with my daily conference calls. I like listening to Garrett at 94/9 because he usually tosses in a few songs that aren't standard for your morning commute and he's got immense knowledge of the bands that he plays. But there's a gap in my radio day before I go back to Indie for Jonesy's Jukebox at noon and then Stacy Taylor at 3, and now that gap has closed.

Chris Cantore, who was at 91X for what? 12 years? Something like that anyway. Now he's back on the air and he's free to play a whole bunch of music not normally heard in a radio show, and he even has the freedom to say Fuck. It's like when Bill Maher was fired from CBS and made the jump to HBO and could finally say what he really wanted to say.

This Monday, appropriately on Cinco de Mayo, Chris' broadcast launched officially and there was a little Cinco de Mayo brunch and carne asada to go with it. The studio is in National City, once the offices of The Flash. The station is online only, but the owner also took the time to explain that they were able to break code of the iPhone and iTouch and it can be streamed on both devices when wireless is available. They gave a tour of the studios and explained some of the other launches they have planned in the coming months, but there was so much stuff, I could barely wrap my head around Chris being not only streaming online but with cameras on so you can watch everyone as they do the show, and on top of that, chat with them on a message board. And the bonus for me is that the show runs until noon. I particularly like the cross border influence of the station, with a daily rock en espanol segment, Jen Correia (blogger at SanDiego-ish) doing news, and the chemistry the whole team has on air.

It was a nice way to start of a Monday, but even more, it's another innovation from our little town. Some people would prefer me to pick favorites when it comes to radio, and in this case online radio, but to me, we're pretty damn lucky to have some quality choices, because if you think about it, the more airplay certain artists get between those choices, the more inclined they are to stop here on tour, like how Death Cab did private performances for FM 94/9, 91X, and KPRi all to eventually announce that they'll be here this summer. I love this city, and it's nice to listen to people on-air who feel the same.

This is through the glass from the conference room into the studio:


That's Kallao, who briefly joined Chris in the broadcast (and whose photography you can link to in my list of photo sites)


And for all my radio peeps, here's links to all of stations I've mentioned in this post, and they can all be streamed:

X1FMradio.com
FM 94/9
91X
KPRi
Indie 103.1

keep on reading...

Sweet & Tender Hooligans at the Casbah, 12/28/07

If you read this blog frequently, you know how disappointed I was at Street Scene that even though I was backstage and got to meet a ton of bands, I missed out on meeting Joe Escalante. Joe is in the Vandals, and plays bass for Sweet & Tender Hooligans, but he's also the morning host on Indie 103.1, his show aptly called "The Last of the Famous International Morning Shows". I caught the band for a piece of their 3 hour set at Street Scene, but that was in no way a proper preview for seeing them last night at the Casbah. Not that the band was any less perfect than they were at Street Scene, but the crowd was something I never expected.

The fans clearly love The Smiths and Morrissey, but they equally love Sweet & Tender Hooligans. I arrived to a packed bar and the crowd was fanatical, with girls sitting on the stage, people jumping onstage to hug and kiss Jose, and literally ripping his clothes off. To be honest, I don't even know if Morrissey himself gets that kinda love anymore.

Here's the setlist from Friday, and I was told by Jose that tonight's show will have a different setlist.


Sweet & Tender Hooligans Setlist, 12/28/207, Casbah San Diego


Maneuvering to the front was a challenge, but I was able to snatch a spot on the side of the stage to get some pics of my hero, Joe Escalante. I'm bummed because I cannot stream the radio from my new job, but Joe still has some podcasts that can be downloaded. I still always highly recommend checking out his "Barely Legal Radio Program" where he gives entertainment industry related legal advice. As a blogger, the info he gives on trademarks, copyright law, and music law are immeasurably valuable.


























The show itself was amazing, and if you closed your eyes, you wouldn't be able to distinguish between Jose's voice and Morrissey's. Any fan of the Sweet & Tender Hooligans will tell you the same.

After the show, I got to meet Joe and his wife, and I was giddy like a teenager. And the two of them were nice enough to put up with me rambling and gushing.






People were asking for merch, so I asked the band why they didn't have any and they told me they just didn't have anyone to sell it. So here I am, sitting on the smoking patio, selling t-shirts and CDs while Adam Gimbel wraps up his Too Cool For Karaoke segment of the night. But it's clear, the natives are restless, and the weekend warriors are out in full force. Last night, as I arrived, four guys had already been kicked out for being too wasted and/or obnoxious. If I can, I'll try and sneak up for some more pics tonight, but truth be told, I'm just happy to be here listening.

keep on reading...

Warped Tour Death?

Joe Escalante of the Vandals and morning dj on LA's Indie 103.1 said that someone died in the mosh pit at the Warped Tour yesterday during the Circle Jerks performance at the Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco. I've yet to find any media reports on the incident, but as we know from the incidents at Street Scene last year during Tool, these sorts of things get hushed. Anyone know whatever happened to that guy who was in critical condition?

keep on reading...

boo. Smashing Pumpkins new single "Tarantula"

Just heard the new Smashing Pumpkins single "Tarantula" on Indie 103.1. As CatDirt would say, "meah," but I haven't been a fan of the Pumpkins since Gish. Jonesy's Jukebox Jury was split- half "pants", half "mustard". Dave Wakeling gave it pants. (that's bad) Steve Jones gave it mustard. (that's good) Darcy from Reprise Records shouldn't get a vote if you ask me.

FM 94/9 is supposed to start playing it on Monday. Please, please, please don't overkill it. Make people want it. Make me want it. Make me want them to play Street Scene.

keep on reading...

Some good listenin': Great Northern "Trading Twilight for Daylight"

I've mentioned here before, but I can't say it enough...just because I'm asked to listen to something or sent a free CD, doesn't mean I'm gonna like it and certainly doesn't mean I'm gonna post about it, but when I do like it, you get to know everything I do.



All that clarified, I have written about Great Northern in the past. I've been hearing the single Home in radio promos on Indie 103 since last summer and they were featured on a compilation the station gave out last year when they were here for Street Scene. It is now in regular full rotation on Indie and seem to be following a trajectory similar to Silversun Pickups, which means the rest of San Diego will be in love with Great Northern in 2008. But why wait? The layered male and female harmonies are accompanied with keyboards that will make you think there's an entire string section behind their unique indie-pop. These are great tunes for long drives or laying in bed on a Sunday when San Diego is under our blanket of May Gray or June Gloom.

You can listen to some tracks on their MySpace page or on the Eenie Meenie site . The album will be released on May 15, but you can buy it (as of today) on iTunes. Great Northern will be having a CD release party here in San Diego on June 1st so you'll be reading about them again here soon, but in the meantime, go have a listen.

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Jesus & Mary Chain On The Radio

The Jesus and Mary Chain will be on Indie 103.1 at "twelve bells" (that's noon to you) this Thursday (tomorrow) making an appearance on Jonesy's Jukebox before they head to Pomona for their show at the Glasshouse with Scarlett Johansson. Stream it live here. (Thursday at noon)

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Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip "Thou Shalt Always Kill"

oh. my. god. I love this. Thx Indie for playing it twice in 10 minutes.

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Calling All Bands

This event is not for a while but it's good enough that I thought you should plan ahead and make sure you are there.


Free Entertainment Law at Guitar Center
Saturday, May 3
Noon- 4 p.m.
The Guitar Center
8825 Murray Dr., La Mesa

The San Diego Entertainment & Sports Lawyer's Association (SDE&SLA), a section of the SDCBA, will be offering free consultations with some of San Diego's premier entertainment attorneys at the Guitar Center.
Contact: Paul J. Mirowski (619) 702-5300, or Michael Hoisington (619) 236-1551

I'm always recommending that bands listen to Barely Legal Radio on Indie 103.1 because Joe Escalante always has great advice to bands. If your band starts making any money, there are a ton of legal issues that can arise and you need to protect yourselves. This event could also prove beneficial to all you locals whose bands are moving up to the next level. I will, of course, repost this as the event nears, but mark your calendars now.

keep on reading...

Newsy Bits for Wednesday

Last night was another night of extended sleep for me as I refuse to succumb to the flu, and I feel a thousand times better today, so I will be at the House of Blues sidestage tonight for sure for KFS and Princeton, then heading over to the Sports Club in hopes of maybe catching a piece of Republic of Letters. Both late shows, though, dammit. Anyway, not a whole lotta news but here's a couple things of interest I found:

If you were planning on seeing Sick of It All at the Dropkick Murphys' show on Monday, you are shit outta luck. They have had to cancel their west coast dates. This from Sick of It All:

We have some bad news to announce. Our singer Lou has had very bad back problems for the last week, and yesterday he had to be taken to the hospital because he couldn’t move without being in a lot of pain. He was released a few hours later, but isn’t in the kind of shape that would allow him to perform on stage. We’re really sorry, but we can’t make the trip out to California to start the tour with Dropkick Murphys.

Our friends in Dropkick have been very cool and
understanding, and although we’re leaving them in a bind without the main
support act they planned the tour with, they aren’t canceling our spot just yet.
We’re going to take this day by day and see if we’ll be able to meet up with the
tour at some point, but it looks like we’ll definitely miss the Western part of
the Dropkick tour. If we can join the tour, the place and date will both depend
on Lou’s recovery time.

We were all really looking forward to this tour,
especially after having such a great time touring with AFI. It's always an
awesome show with Dropkick, so each night that we miss will be a difficult pill
to swallow. If all goes well, we’ll be back on the road soon.

Once again, our deepest apologies to our Western US fans who were excited to see us and the great Dropkick Murphys together.

*****
Another story of another band getting robbed. Eastern Conference Champions were robbed in LA. I'm posting this because it's another warning to bands to take the time to unload your gear and also if you're ever buying equipment on Craig's List, chances are it belonged to someone else.

We just played the last night of our February
residency on Monday to a packed house at the Silverlake Lounge, and then all of
our gear gets stolen. The van was parked overnight on Sycamore, just east of
LaBrea, between 4th and 6th streets. The next morning, our buddy, the green
sherrod aka '94 Ford Econoline, was discovered with the passenger side window
smashed and all the equipment gone. Everything. Guitars, Drums, Amps, Computers. Everything. The fuckers wiped us out.

*****
I never really went into why I was so pissed about the House of Blues Pete Yorn show last week, and since I've been asked about it, I will make a brief point. I have always had issues with the sound, both in the concert hall and the sidestage, the overpriced 1.5 oz measured pour drinks, and the crowds that I've experienced more often than not who talk through the entire $20-$40 shows, but on this particular night, I was treated like shit when I was supposed to have been on the list...no, I'm not lying or trying to cheat you in some way, I was told my name would appear on a list. If it's not there, I'll deal with that, but you don't have to be a dick behind that window. Also, on this particular night (Monday) there was supposed to be all night happy hour in the bar in Salvation Alley. Andrea actually chewed out the restaurant manager who told her they weren't doing that tonight since the concert downstairs was sold out (what one has to do with the other, I do not know). If you advertise all night happy hour Mondays and publish it in your monthly calendar that you have sitting on every table in the restaurant, you better damn well honor it (just like if you have sidestage shows advertised as "free with college ID" you need to honor that, too.) It is no surprise to me that HoB is having a hard time with business, and even less surprising that they are owned by Live Nation which is a spin-off company of ClearChannel. It is, to me, unfortunate that local venues can't compete with the booking that the HoB might can get. As long as bands I like will play there, I will begrudgingly fork over my money. Sometimes it be that way.
*****
Have I mentioned how excited I am, shitty seats and all, about the Arcade Fire show at Spreckels? You can still stream the album at NME.com, catch the listening party at the Whistle Stop next Monday, and if you work where I work, you can get excited when you get to work every day because you get to see this:



Indie 103 has been leaking info about "shows in the vicinity" of Coachella, so keep your eyes peeled for a couple shows at the Greek Theatre in LA as well as a "secret" show in Palm Springs on Friday before Coachella.
*****
Oh, and one last thing. I get a lot of shit from my local radio peeps that I am not kind to local radio. So let me say here that local radio is like dating. There are things about a guy that make you love him, but then those very same quirks or habits start to get on your nerves, but you have to remember that he's loyal and faithful and deep down you will always love him. So 91X, I grew up with you. We have history and definitely had our ups and downs, but you will always have a place in my heart. KPRi, you're like the sugar daddy I always wanted, if only I were ready to settle down. I'm not quite ready for the mini van, but you're like the one who treats me to a nice dinner every once in a while and gives me a glimpse of me in 5 or 10 years. And 94/9. You're like the hot foreign guy that shows up to high school during senior year. Mysterious and new, but when you get to know him the edge is dampened but not gone, and he only has to say something in that cute accent to get you all turned on again. While I'm always comparing the three to one another and putting Indie 103 on a pedastal as the guy that is way outta my league, let me say congratulations to 94/9. We all know Big Sonic Chill is one of the best specialty shows on radio, and now Indie has incorporated it into their schedule, known as "Big Sonic Heaven". So San Diego radio, I heart you all. We may fight a lot, but you're here for me and I am here for you, constructive criticism and all.
*****

keep on reading...

Me loves Peter, Bjorn and John & 94/9 Insiders

If we're lucky, maybe in like 8 months they'll be playing them on the radio in San Diego. Until then, listen today to Jonesy's Jukebox on Indie where they will be guests in the studio and playing live.

Also, about the 94/9 thing, the latest name is Julie U. and she does not have a MySpace account. In my view, that means she does not really exist. (haha) Give it to me, Guy. Whatcha got this hour?? Should I start making requests directly to the Insider DJs? Haha. That would be awesome. Damn, he's gonna be up to $500. I. Am. So.Jealous.

Guy's lunchtime picks:
Devil Inside- INXS (the first band I was ever obsessed with)
Jungle Boogie- Kool and the Gang (Come on, Guy, just because I said I danced last night doesn't mean you're gonna get any ass shaking from me today)
Angel- Jimi Hendrix

I'm outta here for the day, so sorry peeps, but that is probably the last you'll hear from me until Monday, but check back, I might surprise post this weekend.

I just got home and YAY! Guy, I'm very impressed with your third selection.

Linoleum- NOFX
Deborah- Beck
By The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

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FM 94/9 Insiders DJs: Still Lame

This morning 94/9 called out the name Sam Adams. Bar har, very funny. I'm still waiting here with my three songs. Instead, Guy McClellan got three more picks.

Sweet Honey- Slightly Stoopid
Ziggy Stardust- David Boey
Bring The Noise- Public Enemy

yawn.

In e-mailing some of the guys from yesterday, there are definitely parameters that they must stay within. So while not a "list" to choose from, per se, there are certainly limits.

Can I just say that I am such a multi tasker that I am listening to TWO radio stations simultaneously. 94/9 is the background music as I listen to the Barely Legal radio program on Indie 103. I cannot stress enough that if you are a band, you need to listen to Barely Legal with Joe Escalante as he dishes out copyright and trademark info, contract information, performance rights and royalties, and other information. You can grab the podcasts on the Indie 103 website. Joe is awesome.

Guy's still on. His set:

Yell Fire- Michael Franti (playing in Feb at 4th & B, in regular rotation on Indie)
Honey White- Morphine
Try It and Like It- Anya Marina (who played it coy and said it was an "awkward position" he'd put her in)

Someone else PLEASE call in.

Guy redeems himself, kinda, but it seems there is a limited selection of music to choose from.

Imagine- John Lennon
What's Going On?- Marvin Gaye
Somewhere Only We Know- Keane

I'm a huge fan of Keane and think they deserve more radio love than they get.

My quest to find these people on MySpace continues, by the way, and I made a new friend out of it. (Hey, Jim!)
Here's one of the dides who didn't call in:
Paul

There were two profiles that came up last hour, presumably father and son, but I can't be sure. I forgot the name, but judging by the profile, it would've been a lot more Nirvana.

keep on reading...

Congrats: Bloody Hollies

The Bloody Hollies' "C'est La Vie, Ma Cherie" from their new album Who to Love, Who to Trust, Who To Kill was just played on Indie 103.1 on Jonesy's Jukebox, hosted by original Sex Pistol himself, Steve Jones. Steve said the band is "very grim" and went on to say that they are "very much a 'kill-yourself' sort of a band." I listen to Jonesy a lot and that is high praise from the man.

keep on reading...

Friday Newsy Bits/Thursday Recap

Today, attached to my paycheck, I got an ad that asks, "Problems at home? There are solutions." Yes, we have an EAP (employee assistance program). How awesome is that?

Last night, I skipped happy hour at Bacchus because nobody else could make it. Instead, I headed home after work for a short while, then headed over to home of Catdirt and Catdirt wife, where we slammed some Tecate and headed over to Habitat House. We arrived during Sharon Van Etten's set. She was a solo acoustic performer that to me, sounded like a cross between Joan Baez and Aimee Mann. CDW said she sounded like Cat Power, but better. She had this awesome voice, despite claiming to be sick. The room was dead silent with people cramming in the door jam just for a glimpse. Some levity of the serious music came in the form of a 16 year old who "just (wanted) to dance and have a good time." After a bit of her dancing in the middle of the room, in front of the audience spread among chairs and couches and sitting cross-legged on the floor, Sharon stopped and asked, "are you serious? I mean, I'm really flattered if my music makes people wanna dance but it's never happened and I just can't do it." At one point while she danced, her cell phone rang and she took the call. The audience chimed in and the girl scattered for a while but kept coming in starting the dance thing again.

CDW and I took a smoke break on the porch and were promptly joined by the 16 year old who was clearly high who "just (wanted) to dance". CDW was being nice to her, telling her that the dancing was cool until she announced she was 16, at which point we were scared off realizing we technically could be her mother...and she was born in the 90's! Anyway, at some other point she complimented some chick's purse and said her mom has one
"exactly" like that but it has a mushroom on it and her mom feels bad using it at her AA meetings.

Sharon was awesome and when joined with backing vocals by her friend (Corbi?) she sounded even more powerful. Her set ended and then Corbi was on the mic and on her own, there were a few too many yaay-yays for me to handle. She played for a while and my interest was waning.

Finally Red Pony Clock started their set. I felt like they were Rafter-lite, but seeing Rafter in the audience made me believe that what they have, even with no mic, is better than my first impression was. The moments of dissonance and chaos made me feel initially like I was watching the band from my high school practicing, but it grew on me and when the vocals could be heard, I liked it. The singer invited people to dance and of course dancing girl made her way back into the room, this time with her friend. Her friend had this tight red dress on that made me feel like there was something illegal about her dancing for the rest of us. The band continued and the more they played, the more I liked them. (All 9 or 10 of them) I would like to see them again, with a mic for the singer, just to feel the full effect. Still, the show in a huge living room with hardwood floors and a cozy fireplace, a few couches, and random floor space, made the show both inviting and warm. Habitat, let me know anytime there's a show and I am there.

After the show I tried to catch the Go Getters at The Tower, but they had just finished. I'm not a fan of rockabilly but I love the music coming out of Sweden so I thought I should at least try. No luck, so I headed to the Ken Club for a final night cap before I headed home to catch the repeat of the Colbert Report with Bill O'Reilly. Then it was lights out. I am so ready for the weekend, whatever it may bring...

On to today's news...

*In reference to the question from CatDirt about the Viewmasters being back together, Amanda responds, "Yes, we are back together. Look for more shows coming soon... :) "...so there ya go. I'll be at the MCASD show on Saturday night to check them out and testing out the pear vodka.

* The Inside Track, hosted by Scott Riggs on 105.3 from 8-10pm on Sundays has been cancelled. You can read the e-mail from Scott on Chickrawker's site here. This bums me out immensely having only recently discovered the Inside Track, which I guess makes me part of the problem...since I don't listen to any ClearChannel stations (91X is technically not Clearchannel) I would've never heard cross promotion and whatnot. I hope that Garrett Michaels or anyone who makes such decisions jumps at the opportunity to acquire the show on 94/9. Or a daily feature like the Dog Dare? Maybe an hour before Big Sonic Chill?

*Dear Coachella,
I hate you.
sincerely,
Rosemary
(p.s. I would not, however, turn down a free pass though 2007 as a whole is supposed to be the hottest year on record)

Because of Coachella (presumably), bands that are touring that I would really love to see are not booking shows in San Diego but leave questionable gaps in their touring schedule, i.e. The Decemberists, who will be playing SF on April 25 and 26, then have a gap in schedule, and then head to Eugene, Oregon on May 3. Me no likey crazy 800 band festival shows...Street Scene is as big as I can handle and that is counting on 64% of the bands sucking dick so I don't have to trade off one band for another. I am so conflicted.

* Yet another great song that Indie 103 is playing: "The Book I Write" by Spoon from the Stranger Than Fiction motion picture soundtrack.

*Please don't be someone I know posting this on Craig's List:

Cold War Kids at The Casbah!!!! 2/20/07 - $75:

2007-01-18, 1:55PM PST

Hello. I have 4 tickets for the sold-out Cold War
Kids concert at The Casbah on 2/20/07. I'm selling them for $75 each, OBO. Look
around, this is the cheapest price you'll be able to get them. Both concerts at
The Belly Up and The Casbah are sold-out. I'm able to sell them individually or
all four. Thanks. Location: OB

I ordered one ticket, it was supposedly sent last week, and it still has not arrived. I am pissed.

*Beating Stereogum to the punch!- Yesterday I reported that Anya Marina, Tristan Prettyman and Greg Laswell recorded a song about Lindsey Lohan. Well, they made #1 indie blog, Stereogum. Though that doesn't even compare to the street cred that Catdirt gets for his mention in bringing up Cold War Kids (despite his refusal to see them live)...

* And finally, as promised, here's Stephen Colbert on The O'Reilly Factor

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Happy Tuesday

Reasons to refrain from crying ab0ut having to go back to work:

1. Indie 103 played the new Arcade Fire single, "Intervention" and then shortly thereafter played Thom Yorke's Neil Young cover of "After the Gold Rush". This is why I stream LA radio.

2. Lots of blog reading to catch up on. Cat Dirt! Chickrawker! Dooce! Smoke And Ashes! Postsecret! Stereogum!

3. I bought some Rafter CDs the other night that I haven't had the chance to open yet. I got '10 songs' and 'Music For Total Chickens', and also got an Asthmatic Kitty sampler (22 songs!) and a side project thing(?) called Wack Ass Bitch 'Death Style'.

All this definitely compensates for the fact that I kept waking up having dreams about Perez Hilton fighting Paris Hilton to a soundtrack of Lady Sovereign's 'Love Me or Hate Me'. Which reminds me...I haven't touched TMZ in a couple weeks, either.

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Get On It!- The Cat Empire

My little ears perked right up this morning when I realized that Indie 103.1 has added The Cat Empire's "Sly" to regular rotation. If you haven't listened yet, what are you waiting for? They are really good. They have 4 albums and have been around a while but we're finally hearing about them. They played with Ozomatli in Oz, and have been nominated for several awards Down Under. So why am I bringing this up to you? Well, because The Cat Empire is coming to the Belly Up for the 94/9 "About the music" series. Here's what Owen had to say about TCE:

...on Saturday, February 3, 2007, we’ve got a great
show scheduled with the band, The Cat Empire. This is an amazing band from
Australia that you might not know about right now, but by the time February rolls around, you’re not going to be able to escape them.

I'm guessing (and hoping) 94/9 might throw it in rotation come January as a 'recommended artist'. I'm just saying, $10 ain't bad for what promises to be a great show. This band really will get you to do some serious ass shaking. Have you ever looked at the cost of travel from Down Under to our hemisphere? Really, $10 is CHEAP. (Doesn't mean I won't take a free pair if any lovely wants to hook me up)

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If I could be in two places at once

The Vandals Winter Formal with Reeve Oliver and Longmont Potion Castle at the House Of Blues- Sunday, December 17th.

Today on the HoB site, tickets can be purchased in their 2 for Tu offer. If I didn't have free tickets to Devotchka at the Belly Up the same night, I would go, if for nothing else than to see Joe Escalante, host of the Last of the Famous International Morning Shows on Indie 103.1.

Tickets were $15. Save yourself some cash and get them now. And what could be better than wearing a tacky tux or prom dress to a Vandals show?

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Things to Do & I am a squirrel

Like a squirrel forced to choose between two nuts and thereby starving, when I have too many options I am paralyzed and opt, in the end, to stay home. Well, okay, there's more to it than that...I got a tetanus shot this week and my arm feels like it weighs 60 pounds, and my checking account is reminding me that it's Christmastime and I have gifts to buy plus the $32.50 I just forked over for the 94/9 Hootenanny, but still- I should've at least walked to the Ken Club last night. Alas, I did not, so have nothing much to report today except for these other minor (non music) announcements:

* The Strong Ale Festival is this weekend - Friday and Saturday, December 1st and 2nd at Pizza Port Carlsbad from 4-11 pm on Friday and 11 am to 11 pm on Saturday. They tried to get full kegs of almost all of the beers so that the tap list will be the same both days. Cost is $25 and includes eight 4 ounce samples. Additional samples are just $1. And of course the annual festival smoked bratwurst pizza will be available. There will be more than 65 beers on tap for your consumption pleasure. Motel 6 is stumbling distance and the Coaster train is just blocks away and runs till 11 pm on Friday and 6 pm on Saturday.

* The ice skating rinks are now open in Horton Plaza and in Coronado. I haven't been to the one in Coronado, but all I can recommend is bringing thick socks and extra socks that are dry for after skating because the skates are wet inside and probably the most uncomfortable thing you could do to your feet next to those platform tranny stilettos you have hidden in your closet.

* There are a few holiday parades on Saturday- North Park's toyland parade is at 11, the OB Christmas parade is at 5:05, and the Chula Vista Starlight Parade is after the Holiday Festival which is from 2:30-5:30. Someday maybe I'll post my pictures of doing baton when I was 5 in this parade. My only memory: It is butt ass cold in leotards in December, so dress warm for all the above events.

* I am constantly recommending that any bands, managers, or people just interested in music and showbiz stuff tune in to Indie 103 for the Barely Legal Radio Program hosted by Joe Escalante of the Vandals. (Click "Listen Live" in the masthead) The show is normally on at 11, but is switching to a new time. The show is now on Fridays at 9 am. If you miss it, you can listen to the podcasts.

I'll be updating this as more info comes in so check back later.

If you wanna see my already posted events through Monday, CLICK HERE.

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