Rosey's Diary: April 20-24, 2009

After an exhausting weekend at Coachella and very little computer time, it shouldn't be surprising that I took a couple night's off from everything and vegged out. I had over 400 emails to sift through and attempted to make sense of them all by creating a much needed calendar and whatnot. I've been trying to move this site into a better format, which is taking a bit longer than planned, but along with that, I'm dipping my toes into a little bit of this and that. Tim Gonzalez from Amenity contacted me a couple weeks earlier about their video release party, so I spent a couple days helping them out on that before I was finally ready to emerge back into San Diego night life. Funny how a couple days can make me spring back to life. In this post: Pheromones at Bondi, The Old In Out at Casbah, Amenity at X1FM, Kingdom of Magic, Prize Country, and Hostile Combover at Casbah, and Loom, Prize Country, and Kingdom of Magic at Radio Room. All after the jump.




Wednesday rolled around and after a couple days of being cooped up in the opium den, it was time to spread my wings. I'd finally finished my listings for the week and noticed that The Pheromones were playing a free show at Bondi. The show was being put on by Shindy.TV. The last time I saw a show at Bondi was during spring ASR in 2008, so I thought it was a good chance to check it out again, while also getting to see Craig play, and also learning what shindy.tv was all about. I can't lie- the sound is still mushy and the room isn't really meant for bands, and maybe it has to do with it being an early show, but it felt like a corporate work party and Jake and I were the crashers. Despite that, they had $4 Trumer Pils and I was out to have a good time, so we just went with the flow and stayed for most of the show. I mentioned before that Craig gave me a crash course in music appreciation and I really like what The Pheromones have got going on. Not my typical scene, but I always feel a little more alive and a little bit more carefree after seeing them perform.



After we had enough of the downtown sport coat and t-shirt crowd, we had to make like homing pigeons to be among our people at the Casbah where we caught The Old In Out. Their dirty garage noise was just what I needed to keep the party going.

After the band's set and catching up with friends, Jake dropped me off in the hood where I met up with friends at The Ken Club to close out the night.

Thursday rolled around and I was so excited. I mentioned that I was helping Amenity with their video event and with the help of Andrew, we were able to get the guys an interview on X1FM.com. I met Mike Down for the first time and caught up with Tim for a bit until Andrew was off air and could greet us. He showed the guys around the studio and they loved it. They did about a 20 minute interview, played some Amenity tracks on air, all the while old Chula Vista peeps were logged into the chat room. It was a great experience all around and has definitely opened up some doors for things to come.

After the interview, I decided since I was already in the South Bay that I'd say hi to my parents and have a real meal for once, even if it was leftovers night at the house. I raided their food cabinet, swung home, and it was off to the Casbah. I try to catch Prize Country whenever they come to town. They definitely satisfy my need for face melting, and they usually bring along a band or two and play with Hostile Combover, so there was no missing this show for me.

I got to the show on time, but got caught up in a long conversation at the back bar with Devon, the drummer of Kingdom of Magic. He does sound and roadie gigs when he's home, so he was telling some great road stories. I made it in to see Modern Rifles but it was so dark and I don't really know the guys, so the few pics I did take are not worth posting. Their CD has blown me away time and time again and I'm glad I was able to catch them again recently.

After MR, Kingdom of Magic took the stage. Holy shit. I love to get my hardcore fix every now and then and they totally brought it. I couldn't take my eyes off Devon who was just a total beast on the kit.



The rest of the band brought it just as hard. I guess when most hardcore bands tour, they still do the all ages circuit or play house parties to get town to town which is cool and DIY and all, but it's music that speaks to a whole different side of me and I love seeing it live, so perhaps I should do my research to find other bands doing it so I don't have to wait every 6 or 8 months for my fix of bands that are familiar.


Prize Country was after Kingdom of Magic and this is the band that I always love seeing, not only because they're perhaps more punk than hardcore, with catchier melodic songs, but they have some really great tattoos that I always like to check out. Sorry for sounding so fan girl and obviously I see a lot of people with a lot of tattoos all the time, but they have ones that I actually look at and it makes me think maybe one day I'll get some ink.





Closing out the night was local boys Hostile Combover who just brought the whole night full circle proving that some nights can really have the perfect cohesive bill.





After the show, Miggs was spinning records at the Ken so I decided to drop by to finish up what was quite a stellar evening of music.

The next morning I worked at the family daycare for the day. Just me and my dad and 6 kids all day long. That is one hell of a day with a lot of diaper changing. After that I swung by the Open Door Session at X1FM where Republic of Letters was set to play. I love these boys and seeing them live again was great. It felt like it had been far too long. (note: catch them this weekend at Art Around Adams)



Here's part of their session:



After catching up with the boys after their set, I swung home to take care of my pets before making my way to Radio Room. There was a lot going on that night, but Prize Country and Kingdom of Magic were playing again, this time with Loom, so I wanted to get my fill once again, and I sometimes don't give Radio Room enough love. I went to the show by myself, but I certainly wasn't alone as Bearpaw rolled up with the fast crowd in their "Cool Bus".



Loom is great and I caught them before at the Casbah with Prize Country, so I knew I was gonna enjoy their set. I always like bands that add unconventional instrumentation to music, and Loom has it covered with a violinist. They had some lights onstage so I thought I would play around with them a bit.







Unfortunately, the other bands didn't have lights, so I was challenged, but both of them played amazing sets once again and I was glad that I chose to stick in my neck of the woods for the night. I guess they didn't believe me the night before when I told them I'd see them again. Sometimes you just can't get enough.









It was the perfect way to unwind after daycare and you can be sure that I'll be there again. When Prize Country comes to SD they usually play 2 nights in a row, and I only hope they bring Kingdom of Magic and Loom once again the next time around.

With that, I'll end the post and pick up where I left off another time.

Help Blowupnihilist

MySpace and the Internet are supposed to make the world smaller, right?

Well, we in San Diego love Prize Country, so any friends of theirs are friends of ours. And their friends need help. This is a repost of a repost (the first part is from Prize Country, the second from Blowupnihilist. If you've got a couple bucks to spare, Consider sending it their way.

My good ol' pal Andre (and co) have had a bit of misfortune, to say the least, and need some help. Dig deep and pull something together for the man and his band - this is the guy will be responsible for changing the world.

READ BELOW !

Saturday night at around 5:57pm in a snowstorm on I-84 Eastbound; on the way to a show in Boise later that evening, my van flipped and rolled three times.

In the vehicle were myself (Andre), David Mullis and Jon Wayne Rebello; tour manager and Roadie extraordinar, respectively.
Doing 40mph in the right hand lane we felt the rear end swerve to the right, I turned into the slide, it slowly shifted to the left and then we were sliding on black ice in the middle of the two lanes going straight. Things seemed to be doing well. Suddenly the rear spun around which had us sliding backwards to which we then flipped and rolled three times into the ditch in the center of both lanes.

Windows busted out; snow was inside; most of the gear was destroyed or damaged; including a lot of the merch I just had made for this tour; personal belongings, etcetera. We three however are alive. Thank fuck.

The van is totaled and bills are at upwards of $6,000.

To some this might not be that big a deal. I however don't make that much in a single year. Disabled cats like myself seldom do. Tour is over.

Though I hate this to sound like a handout, I've known this to work for some bands/people at times of crisis like this; so I've set up a paypal account (at) excommunicate@gmail.com in hopes to possibly help recover some of the loss. God damn it, that's just what it looks like as I type this.

I've got over 6,200 "friends" on this social culture/teen popularity site, and if half of them sent $1.00 or so, things would be much better for the future of Blowupnihilist. As of now, live performances and recordings aren't happening.

Sending more, I'd include copies of my new periodical (and/or) my CD's I have left, tee-shirts and other weird shit I know you'd love.

If you don't feel like 'donating' Relapse and Interpunk have several copies of my album still available.

///
The paypal is simple, just go on Paypal.com, choose make a payment, enter the e-mail address, select "service/other" and whatever you want to donate. Just think of it as buying a couple drinks for a friend in need.

Halloween At Black Box Recording Studio: Hostile Combover, Prize Country, Sirhan Sirhan

I finally got my Halloween pics to upload. Sheesh, Photobucket. (By the way, super shout out to Kim, an SD:Dialed In reader who donated to this site a couple weeks ago. Her contribution has been used for a Photobucket upgrade for this site)

I completely intended to hit up Black Box on Halloween to catch Hostile Combover, then head to the Casbah for Grand Ole Party and the rest of the locals there. But things always change. I went to Blackbox and nobody was really there when I got there, so I went to Turf Club to meet Andrea and some friends, then an hour later we went back to Black Box. It ended up being such a good time, I stayed through the end of the show.

There were a group of bicyclists? cyclists? bikers? who all decided to dress like skeletons (Karate Kid?) taking mass group pictures in the alley as we approached Black Box. If you haven't been to any of the shows here, keep an eye and ear out and get there next time there's a show. Black Box is located in the heart of Golden Hill and it's accessible through the alley behind 7-11. Enter the gate where the bands park their vans and people are hanging around in a sort of BYOB way, though I would recommend against the giant communal Black Velvet passed among some of the crowd. Most people at the show were in costumes, though I have to admit I'm a pooper and didn't dress up. What was funny was that people not in costumes were handed black trash bags to wear as they wished. Apparently in my Wisconsin Badgers hoodie, my over the shoulder cooler, and my coozy to keep my beers cold, and that was enough costume to not warrant a bag over my head.

Eventually the show started and Hostile Combover had great makeup for their costumes, with brains oozing out of the top of their heads.

















The band killed as always, and the set was just long enough to get a nice haze of heat and energy through the crowd. When a performance takes place in a sound studio, you can't really ask for better sound.

When they finished there was a break as they unloaded, then Prize Country took the stage in their flannel jammmies. Their set got the crowd pushing and moshing and occassionally knocking over mics, but in a situation like this, the crowd is pretty good at self-monitoring and helping the people who were getting pushed down, or who merely slipped on the spilled PBR that was in various spots on the floor. One chick dressed as a pregnant chick kept falling and I liked how she stayed in character, kinda holding her back as she'd get back up and fall over all over again.

Prize Country were here a few months ago at the Casbah and had also played at the Zombie Lounge the night before and kept saying how much they love San Diego. Well, we love Prize Country, too.









Last up of the night were Sirhan Sirhan, and they were loud and aggressive and they too had the crowd really into their set, though by this time, the room was steamy and people seemed to be spread evenly between watching the show inside and those who were drinking and hanging around outside. The first time I saw Sirhan Sirhan, the singer was in this dress. Me thinks he really likes the blue dress. But he wears it well, or I should say, he rocks it well.














Eventually the band finished and I scooted off to get my share of sleep before my first day of work. It was good times and I look forward to the next Black Box show. I also look forward to seeing the Long and Short Of It in a couple weeks at the Pink Elephant for Swami Sunday Mass, because any chance to see Ben go nuts on stage, wheter on vox or behind the kit, is always a great time.