Local Music Newsy Bits

It's been a while since I've gathered some newsy bits but there are a few things of note that I thought were worth mentioning.

*The Stereotypes landed the theme song for a new cable show called "Peter Perfect". It airs on Saturday April 19th at 9pm on The Style Network (www.mystyle.com). They are using the song "Skinny Penny" from their Leftovers EP. The same song is also being used in an episode of "Bones" (Fox) which airs on May 5. They're also working on a new record which should be out in Fall 08.

*Roses on Her Grave are in search of a new bassist. They're playing at the Ken Club on Friday for those interested who wanna check it out. It's also CJ's birthday that night so say hi.

*For anyone who didn't already read it on the other local blogs, The Muslims were recently a "Band To Watch" on Sterogum.com. You can read what they had to say about our local boys here. Also, if you've got some graphic skills, Kelly from Sweet Tooth Records needs some help making a banner for their 7" of "Extinction" that will be posted on various sites, including this one. Contact me and I'll put you in touch with Kelly if you're interested.

Got some news I missed? Email me and let me know...

Roses On Her Grave Video Shoot Tonight

Woah, did you read all the comments about the Blurt posting about Roses On Her Grave last week? I wrote a response from singer CJ Gladstone here but if you missed all the drama, check out the Blurt item here, then scroll down for all the comments. Everyone just needs to relax. And, as a personal aside to Molly, if I learned anything from my whole Band of Horses fiasco, no matter how tempting it might be to defend yourself when people talk shit, sometimes you just have to let it roll off; eventually people will defend you and you don't need to get involved and most people who have the ability to post comments anonymously will be rude online simply because they can. There's a reason they're called trolls.

Anyway, for those people who are fans of Roses on Her Grave, why not check out their music video shoot this afternoon?

We are shooting a video for "She got a gun", the song has been selected by the
American Paint Ball Association to be used as their '07 theme song and are
playing the video throughout all games. The video will be seen by 40,000
weekly. We will be filming at Winston's in OB at 6:30PM today(Wed). Come down
mention this post and get a free CD!

Go show the band some love and be in their vid.

The Reader's Blurt: Misrepresentation, Drama, Lies

So I barely covered the Blurt story about Roses On Her Grave dissing San Diego, but yet again, it seems that Ken Leighton took what he wanted from an interview to create drama within the San Diego music scene. I'm all about fairness and I really try to avoid any hype on Blurt because pretty much everyone who has ever been featured there, while appreciating the press ("there is no bad press") mostly feel they are completely misrepresented within the column. That said, I got an e-mail from CJ Gladstone, lead singer of Roses On Her Grave. All I said about their spot in this week's Blurt was basically, don't shit where you eat. CJ has responded and I feel if Blurt doesn't want to ever put anything positive, my site is all about positivity within the San Diego music scene. Here is CJ's unedited response to what was published in the Reader:

This is C.J. from Roses on Her Grave. I wrote a similar email to Scott at Cat Dirt and he told me to write you. I'm not really sure what to make of this whole blurt thing, it is very frustrating.

Amazing what editing can do. Basically, alot of the article was left out. This interview started out as a result of one of our songs, "She Gotta Gun" being picked up by the national paint ball association for the next national tournament. Ken took us out to dinner, got us drunk and once the interview started the conversation immediately shifted from that. All he wanted us to do was talk shit about other bands (in particular GOP). Somehow my statement about "this city is ready to burst" (meaning there are alot of kickass bands right now); GOP, Bloody Hollies, Transfer, Scarlet Symphony for example, was turned into "nothing is going on in this city." People now take this article as I think The San Diego music scene sucks. This is very far from the truth. I am out at at least 10 local shows a month at different spots around town supporting and enjoying local bands and clubs. I'm not really sure what to do and hope that people know that Blurt is really only about starting controversy and NOT ABOUT MUSIC!!

I'm just frustrated so I called Tim Pyles and he said a good step might be to write you an email. I am far from a controversial person in life and if you were ever to meet me you'd immediately know this. I love playing music. I love playing music in San Diego. I feel VERY fortunate to be where I am at with Roses on Her Grave and I do not take this city for granted in any way. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

I have no suggestions, CJ, except that you, and everyone else, should steer clear of Ken Leighton, as tempting as press can be. He bites off any slight controversy, takes news tips and claims them as his own (whereas Jay Allen Sanford has paid me for info he's gathered from my site) and thrives off any slight bitching anyone might have and escalates it to stir shit up. Thank you for your e-mail and I hope that by merely posting your e-mail, people can see your point of view. By the way, has anyone ever actually seen Ken out on the town, at any show, ever? I'm guessing not, so the true question is why is he even allowed to report on the local music scene at all anymore?

News In The Music Biz

I'm probably gonna spend Thursday with my niece and my sister, so let me post all the news clippings worth reading:

Strange and tragic death of musician Carter Albrecht, member of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians and Dallas band "Sorta". Other reports here.

Luciano Pavorotti died. Stories here.

Rockabilly queen Janis Martin dies at 67. Stories here.

An LA Times Review of my neighbor, Gregory Page's "Love Made Me Drunk" here.

My boys in Swim Party have changed plans from recording an EP to a full LP, read the details hereand listen to the Black Box track on their MySpace page here.

I feel bad I didn't mention this last week, but Augustana is back in the studio recording their next album. They're temporarily living in LA as they do so and I've been promised rough cuts of their new material as it's available. But read about it here. Jared told me that they have completely reworked some of the songs they had presented earlier. So the song below is not going to sound anything like it does below, and according to Jared, it works. I'm gonna hold him to sending me rough cuts, you can count on it, but in the meantime, here's the old acoustic version of the song.

Augustana, "I'll Meet You There Someday"



And I told you I was listening to new music all day, as I wallowed in my feeling sick, so let me say that some of the CDs I have are great.

Eulogies, as I mentioned, will have their full length out on September 11. They'll be at the Beauty Bar on November 8 with Film School. Listen here.

Sea Wolf had an amazing EP and now the full length is going to be available on September 25. Listen to a sample track here or watch a live session here. Both Eulogies and Sea Wolf are part of the amazing group of bands that Dangerbird has signed on and there's not a band or artist yet that has disappointed me.

Eenie Meenie Records (Great Northern) is proud to have LA band Division Day on their roster. Their full length, Beartrap Island, will be out on October 2. I listened to the CD today and though I'd been "MySpace friends" with the band for some time, there has been definite growth and I look forward to their unleashing unto the world. Check them out on MySpace here.

I received an album by Jesca Hoop, but read about it before I actually listened. We all know I'm partial to male vocals, but if you like women like Imogen Heap or Kate Havnevik crossed with Sinead Lohan, you'll love Jesca's album "Kismet" out on September 18. Take a listen at her MySpace page here.


And last, Eskimo Joe is yet another band from Australia that has won me over in one listen. I guess I'm also partial to the packaging, which not only includes a 12 track CD but a 4 track bonus DVD. The album is Black Fingernails Red Wine available September 25. They were part of the LiveEarth concert and to these ears sound like Rob Thomas singing lead for a modern day INXS. That is meant in the most positive way it can sound to a bunch of indie music snobs, because both references are some of my favorite musicians of the past and stuff that I still listen to now without any irony. Check out some tracks on their MySpace here.

And I guess the biggest news of the day is how Roses On Her Grave lead singer CJ Gladstone disses the San Diego scene in a big way in this week's Blurt. For shame. A dog never shits where he eats. CJ should not either.

Tuesday Recap: Britney Spears, Blazin 98.9 Party, Damien Rice, Roses On Her Grave

San Diego is abuzz with a big fat Britney hangover. The whole madness yesterday is a reminder that sometimes you can be in the right place at the right time (like CatDirt was to get the first pic of Brit online). I'll just give the rundown of my evening. Skip this post if you're not in the mood for a meandering rambling post with no point.

I had planned on leaving work early but realized I'd mixed up my post-work itinerary with today. Still, I'd taken a short lunch, so I decided to bail at 5 and head over to the House of Blues to throw rocks at paparazzi. Or just take pictures, you know, to turn the tables on them. I parked my bike and bumped into Kirsten and Kim, old friends from my media days who now work at "San Diego's Official Hip Hop Station, Blazin' 98.9" I'm not gonna pretend I know my hip hop so breathe easy. Still, when she told me they were having a client party at the House of Blues and would I like to come, how could I say no? "Client Party" is business talk for OPEN BAR. We pre-drank a quickie at the Local then went to the party where nobody from the station objected to me being there, secured a name tag and a wristband. Kirsten joined her coworker to work the desk and told me to head downstairs to get to drinkin. I always do what I'm told.

Downstairs I popped the bar's cherry by getting the first drink served. I sat down and met Cesar and Sara, a couple who run DagoSD , an internet radio station that focuses on San Diego hip hop (DIY, baby) and also promotes shows and events around town. Fan of Keak da Sneak? Yeah, they're the ones promoting his show on May 26 at the Blvd. in San Marcos. I love meeting San Diego natives (like me) who really believe in what's going on here. Same goals, different scene. All about San Diego.

Anyway, the party was getting full swing, I saw some old contacts, made some new ones, and enjoyed the open bar and tray passed appetizers. This is a pic of me and Milton. Milton has been in the radio biz for ever and now pretty much runs ESPN radio all by himself (owned by the same radio group as Blazin 98.9).

Simultaneously, there was a fever in the air upstairs, where the line for Britney was quickly growing. Hey, girls in your high heel shoes...prepare to stand for 5 hours! The media were interviewing any white girl walkin by to get her opinion about the show. Talking to the marketing guy of the House of Blues, a lot of headaches could've been saved if people just asked. The schedule was doors at 7ish, Kid Lightning & Ruggy dj set (1 hour) followed by a 1 hour dj set by the Loius XIV guys, then Brit expected to take the stage at 10. All the stations covering seemed to be complete tards in reporting that Brit made everyone wait. Ask for settimes, douchebags. The best was on the 10 o'clock news (between Damien and the Casbah we detoured) when the reporter says, "Yeah, the crowd is angry as some dj's are still playing."

Inside, and the point of the party, was for the station to introduce the Baka Boyz, 98.9's new morning show hosts (from Bakersfield, thus the name) so they gave their spiel, we clapped, and I had to bail to destination number 2.

I hopped on my bike, got to my car, picked up Andrea, picked up my tickets (thank you Greg), stopped at home to let my dog out, and almost exactly one half hour after leaving the House of Blues, Andrea and I were walking into the Open Air Theatre for Damien Rice.

I love the OAT, by the way:
Security: Do you have a camera in there?
Me: No
Securtiy: OK, have fun.

We probably had pretty good seats, but as we walked in, Damien had stopped his set and told the entire audience to move forward and fill the space in front of them. The venue was less than half full and evidence that they should've just left it at Spreckels. We went up to the pit at first where I knelt in front of a broken seat to get a couple shots of the stage.

Not comfortable, I found Andrea who was near where our actual seats were. We watched the show for about an hour. I love Damien Rice, I really do, but his voice physically pains me and his lyrics emotionally drain me. It's cathartic, sometimes it feels really good to feel really sad, but this is music to listen to alone in a quiet room, not so much in an open air amphitheater. Damien, if you ever wanna come play in my living room, let me know. I probably should've not gone to Damien Rice after a hip-hop party, too. My bad. I did go up toward Seth (4th row) for a couple more pics before I was asked to turn my camera off, so these are the best I've got.

From Damien Rice, we buzzed down to the Casbah for the Roses on Her Grave CD Release Party. And it was a party. The crowds lately at the Casbah have been so fun. This was another of the Rockit girls' events and by the few stray burgers and hot dogs left over, it appears that people came hungry. We were there for only a few songs by A Scribe Amidst The Lions and all of Roses on Her Grave, but from the back bar to the front bar to the patio, we mostly listened to them passively, though I did watch Nate go crazy on the drums for a bit. Even with earplugs, the show was really loud, so I returned to the patio until the end of the show. Sorry, Roses, I'll have to pay better attention next time around. And take better pictures.

All good nights must come to an end. Let's hope I can muster energy today to stick to my plan of seeing Tim Finn in the evening followed by Elf Power in the late night. I did catch more Britney news coverage when I got home. Her lip-synching 5 songs and only playing for 15 minutes would explain why in the downstairs party there was no noise from a soundcheck. I hope the suckas that paid $100, $200, $300 a ticket had their 15 minutes of fun. MWAHAHAHAHA. Stupids.