I have to admit, I was pretty late to the Nada Surf party. I never particularly cared for the song "Popular" and didn't realize the amazing music they made until it was pointed out to me by an ex-boyfriend. We'd stay up till sunrise listening to albums like The Weight Is A Gift and Let Go then delve into the older stuff like High/Low and The Proximity Effect. That guy is long since out of my life, but the band is still one of my favorites and I'm pretty sure that I've been to every show they've played here in the last seven years or so.
Well, the band is coming back to San Diego. Bring On The Bright Lights is proud to host one of only 2 west coast shows taking place the week The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy drops before heading off to Europe for a full tour. This is their first record of original songs since 2008's Lucky, and I can't wait to hear it. (If anyone at Barsuk is reading, please send me an advance!)
Anyway, I know I already posted about this show back in October, but I wanted to tell you about a super cool contest they're doing. One ambitious fan will win an autographed Nada Surf guitar, a signed limited edition screen print, and a copy of the new Nada Surf album out just 4 days before the show. In order to be eligible, you've got to buy a ticket to the show and then help spread the word about the show through your social networks. You can find all the contest information on Facebook.
I'm at the America's Cup Village at the moment. I scored press credentials which means that I might hang out here during the week for a change of scenery while I take advantage of their wi-fi and learn a thing or two about racing. sailing. catamaraning. I dunno...maybe I'll pick up the lingo while I'm here. I'm also going to strategically sat by some Spanish media guys. I love hearing castellano.
I ran into Halloran and met the stage managers and they told me the listings had been updated but it appears that the site still has the vague spaceholders for the Battle of the Bands slots. They told me that Abandon The Raft, Illuminauts, Black Hondo, and one more qualified- the name escapes me now-but they didn't tell me what order they qualified. I heard Jamuel Saxon is playing on Friday, too, but I don't know what time. So yeah, I'm not very useful right now but thought I'd update what I know since I'm here now. I changed the link to the banner ad at the top of my site, so you should be able to get those updates when the ladies post from the office.
Wednesday, November 16 - Agua Dulce (4:15)
Thursday, November 17 - The Silent Comedy (8:15) , Little Hurricane (7pm), The Donkeys (5:15)
Friday, November 18 - Chromeo DJ Set (8:30), K.Flay (7:45), The Soft Pack (6:30), Earth Amplified (4:15)
Saturday, November 19 - Diplo (8:15), Hyena (7pm), The Chain Gang of 1974 (5:45)
Sunday, November 20- The Cataracs (5pm)
Obviously there is going to be massive press coverage (this media room is MASSIVE), but here are some quick photos I shot. More photos after the jump.
The America's Cup doesn't take place until 2013, but for many years it was an institution here in San Diego, so it is fitting that the first America's Cup World Series event is taking place right here in our own backyard (if you consider the Big Bay your backyard). Even if you know nothing about the regatta, the great thing for you is that the organizers are making a big party out of it. So even if that means they're trying to attract a younger demographic to care about the sport and earn eyeballs for advertisers by bribing you, I'd say that if someone wants to throw a free multi-day event and book awesome FREE CONCERTS, I'm all for it. (There is a suggested donation of $10 for Ocean Conservation Projects)
The concerts will take place at the America's Cup Village (Broadway & Navy Pier on Harbor Drive) each day immediately after racing ends so set times are approximate. There is also a Battle of the Bands taking place, so if you think your band has the chops to play, I highly suggest entering (click the battle of the bands flyer below or the banner at the top of my site). A little bird may have told me that there has only been ONE ENTRY so far, and though they reserve the right to not book anyone, it's a great opportunity to get in front of a lot of eyeballs and the contest closes on Sunday. Halloran will be hosting each night's events.
Wednesday, November 16 - Agua Dulce (4:15)
Thursday, November 17 - The Silent Comedy (8:15) , Little Hurricane (7pm), The Donkeys (5:15)
Friday, November 18 - Chromeo DJ Set (8:30), K.Flay (7:45), The Soft Pack (6:30), Earth Amplified (4:15)
Saturday, November 19 - Diplo (8:15), Hyena (7pm), The Chain Gang of 1974 (5:45)
Sunday, November 20- The Cataracts (5pm)
I don't know about you, but I had such an amazing time at Rocktoberfest. The lineup was stellar and all of the bands were not only incredibly professional, but all proved why they represent San Diego and can command festival sized stages. I arrived with The Heavy Guilt long before the gates opened to help with last minute details and make sure I had covered all my bases in getting out set times through the tweet-o-sphere and the interwebs. Luckily everything was running smooth and I had time to visit my friend Pete at True North to get some food before the festival. (If you haven't eaten at True North, you are seriously missing out. Get the juicy lucy with tots and you'll be converted.)
By the time I was back, 3pm rolled around and gates were opened. Unlike last year, when it rained and we opened gates at noon, this year the event was well attended from the start up until the finish. I can speak on behalf of West Coast Tavern and the Casbah in saying that this year's attendance blew last year out of the water. With a full bar, a good selection of beer (Beck's Oktoberfest was my personal preference all night), and re-entry allowed so you could grab a bite at a nearby restaurant if you didn't want to wait in the food truck lines, this is the perfect setup for a micro-festival. West Coast Tavern also has the nicest bathrooms in North Park, in case ya didn't know, and I sat down with Everest for awhile as they finished their dinner before their set, so that was pretty great, too. If you didn't come last year, you should know that the two facing stages was a new setup and I think it was perfect allowing the music to jump back and forth all night long.
I'm just gonna post a couple photos and I really don't need to go through a band by band rundown because they were all fantastic....The Heavy Guilt, Low Volts, The Styletones, Bully, Dead Feather Moon, The Creepy Creeps, The Soft Pack, and Everest all delivered. Everest played a bunch of new stuff and told me they're working on a new record for the beginning of 2012. Tim Pyles did a great job as MC and even let me come up on stage and introduced me so I could get this crowd photo:
You can see my photos on Facebook if you want to tag yourselves or at SoundDiego with all of my Foursquare adventures.
Last week The Soft Pack had a homecoming in San Diego on the day their new self-titled record was released. Pyles recorded a session with the band at Capricorn Studios and invited a few of us along to hang out. It was fun getting to hang out with Pyles, O, McHank (who was celebrating his birthday) and Jeff, and of course we were all super paparazzi with our cameras.
Capricorn is a super-cool studio downtown near Pokez. Brian showed us around and I noticed how many bands have recorded there...if you're looking for space, you should definitely check them out. We waited around for the band to arrive, enjoying some cold beverages and the boys geeked out on gear talk.
The Soft Pack arrived a little after we did, we helped unload the gear, they set up and then went right into the session. They played a handful of songs and will air on an upcoming Local 94/9 show. Afterward I took some band shots and hit the road before going to their free show at the Tower Bar later that night.
I'd arranged an interview through their publicist, but since I prefer to be behind the camera than in front of it, I wrote down all the questions I had for them, and they kinda went with it where they wanted. You can see that here:
The band had also spent all day Saturday playing 10 shows and there's a great video of that.
Their show at Tower Bar was really fun and felt like the old days. You can see some of my photos from the day and night after the jump if you click 'keep on reading'. The poor guys had to take off after their show to get to LA at the crack of dawn for a flight to New York where they landed and took a bus to Philly, played a show, then had a show in NYC before flying off to England. The big news is that besides playing Coachella this summer (and planning a date in SD that I can't yet reveal), they're gonna be on The Late Show with David Letterman on Friday night. Big thanks to Brian at Capricorn, Pyles, Matt, Matty, Brian and Dave in the band for the session and the vinyl, Kemado Records, and FTW! media for making the day so much fun.
After Yo La Tengo, I headed over to the Casbah with O to catch the return of The Soft Pack, whom I hadn't seen since they were still called The Muslims. There were other bands on the bill, but frankly I was too busy catching up with friends to pay attention, not to mention it's not often a crowd makes me feel old, but let's just say you won't catch me in boots, leggings, and wayfarers anytime soon. That said, I think Ganglions, The Drug Wars, and even Wavves all had pretty good sets from what I heard and saw, but you'll have to find photos of the three somewhere else. And we got there after Beaters finished so I can't speak to their set at all but I love those guys as people and the feedback I heard testified that they were pretty great, too.
So fortunately O was up front for The Soft Pack and let me squeeze in with him to take some photos and video. The photos are typical of my photography- dark, grainy, and not worth posting, and you can pretty much get the idea with the videos. I'm really looking forward to The Soft Pack releasing a full length in the coming year. I also did a 'paper napkin' interview in an attempt to minimize my voice in the recording...you can't see shit, but if you wanna hear the audio, go here.
Our San Diego boys in The Soft Pack are headed to South By Southwest and to celebrate, we've got two free downloads. If you're headed to Texas, make sure you give our boys some love.
Since I was accused of using someone else's title with my news segments, here's what you get. I haven't done newsworthy items in a bit, but I thought I'd go back to my roots and share some info that I've heard in the past couple weeks.
1. Jon Jameson of Delta Spirit was thrown in jail! You can read all about it on his MySpace blog here.
I personally love his summary:
Morals of the story... don't take pills from my mom, stay on the I-10 when driving through Texas, not everyone with an 'assualt with a deadly weapon' charge is a bad guy, never enter Hudspeth County if possible, if you do have prescription pills keep the prescription with them, former Marine Texas State Troopers love Rage, cover all Obama propaganda when entering Texas and if you still end up in jail laugh at all the inside jokes.
2. The Muslims are changing their name? According to their MySpace Page and bulletins, the band will now be called "The Soft Pack".
Working on new material and firing on all cylinders, we feel strong about this one. It's a new chapter in our lives and hopefully yours. Stay tuned to The Soft Pack page, as we will be posting new videos, music, and junk in the coming weeks. We are pumped.
(Thanks to Crystal for the head's up.)
3. The Paddle Boat have an EP that you can listen to on their MySpace page:
All four songs from our debut EP are now up on our page! The first two songs ("B-Side of a Life" & "Everything") will be released through Single Screen Records on a 7" 45rpm vinyl. A digital download of all four songs will come with the 7". It will also be available through iTunes for those who don't have record players and just want the digital version.
4. Gray Ghosts are here. A new band featuring Dustin & Kelly of Kite Flying Society, Frank of Down With Leo, Kevin of Ex-Friends, Matt of the Bloody Hollies, and Melanie on vocals and flute (though I don't know if she was in a band before). Their first show will be in January at Soda Bar. Here's from their bio:
Gray Ghosts is a six-piece indie pop band out of San Diego. Combining elements of rock, folk, pop, bubblegum and doo-wop. Gray Ghosts strive to emulate the fine songwriting craftsmanship of a bygone era while infusing it with a fiercely modern pop quirkiness all their own.
Gray Ghosts is knee deep in recording their debut EP, a 6 song affair featuring soaring harmonies, boy/girl vocals, warm storytelling, handclaps -- basically, the works.
5. Last night was the final night of The Turf Supper Club before Tim, Sam and the othere pack it up and move to La Mesa to open Riviera Supper Club and Turquoise Room (7777 University Ave) opening this month.
