Sezio receives 501(c)(3) Status, Plans Celebration / Fundraiser at The Casbah 01.21.2010

After a year's worth of paper work, and contemplation of whether we really have the energy to do this for the next decade... Sezio applied for and was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS. We'll soon be announcing our four programs designed to fulfill our mission statement of providing resources, exposure and community support to emerging artists and musicians, but for now it's time to celebrate.

We've booked The Casbah for Thursday, January 21st to host a special night of live music and to fund raise a bit for our fledgling non-profit. Tim Mays has generously offered to donate the night's cover plus a percentage of the bar. Jamuel Saxon will headline the evening, joined by special guests Writer, Tape Deck Mountain and Black Mamba. Martian Horses and Joel P West will open up the evening.

Details:

When: Thursday, January 21st
Where: The Casbah
What: Concert / Fundraiser
Who: Jamuel Saxon, Joel P West & Martian Horses
Time: 9pm
Cost: $10



Congratulations, Zack and friends! San Diego is a better place to live because of people like you and organizations like Sezio.

Tonight: Hotel St. George Album Release @ Casbah

Tonight, catch some of San Diego's finest as Hotel St. George releases their new album alongside Writer, Swim Party, and Intricate Machines. The show is only $5!
Catch the feature on Hotel St. George in this week's CityBeat.

Rosey's Diary: April 18, 2009

It's June and I'm still writing about April. I have got to get this shit together. I last left off after the first night of Coachella. It was a long day but didn't prevent me from having a big day in San Diego. So I shall rewin back to Record Store Day, Cage The Elephant, Menomena, Writer, and Calico Horse. All after the jump.





After a lot of post-Coachella sleep, I wrangled out of bed and headed over to Record Store Day at M-Theory to check out all the festivities. Actually, as it turns out, I missed most of it, but enjoyed browsing vinyl, getting a limited edition Jones Soda root beer with a Barsuk Label on it, and hanging out among the crowd that was there. A heated foosball match was in progress as the boys from Menomena took on different pairings of people. When I heard about the foosball tournament I wanted to join, but when I got there, decided against it because I'm not very fun to compete against. I get a little insane stemming from my days on the tennis court. It's probably the reason nobody ever asks me to go to Triple Crown for ping pong anymore, or why our regular Monday bowling nights came to an abrupt end. That said, it was really just as fun to watch everyone else play.








After grabbing a quick bite at Santana's I went to the House of Blues. Since I'd talked to the tour manager to verify my ticket was there, I escaped any box office drama and made my way inside. Apparently there was supposed to be an opening act but they cancelled, so it was just a quick wait and a good long set from Cage The Elephant. The band was wildly energetic (and not easy to shoot) but they sounded great. In fact, they were simultaneously loose and polished on stage, that for a while I wondered if they were an organic band or if they were sorta put together by a label, down to their outfits looking like they were styled by a professional. I only thought so because one of the guys had brand new 12 hole docs, half laced and open. Maybe that was of his own doing but I was a bit suspicious. The fact of the matter is that it didn't matter, because they control they stage when they're on it and gave the crowd the show they wanted.






The band was not only all over the stage, but jumped in the crowd to get a little pit going which if anything gave a dramatic flair but nothing where anyone could get hurt, especially considering the relatively small capacity of the Delta Room at House of Blues. I was kinda iffy about the band musically before seeing the performance, but after the show I was sold. I wish I could find the setlist but it'd floating around my apartment somewhere. I'll post if I find it.



After the show ended, I arrived at the Casbah in time to catch the end of Calico Horse. The show was sold out and brimming with good friends. I didn't get a chance to take Calico photos, but then Writer played and I got a few in.



I'm not really sure what happened, but after Writer played (and you know I was up singing along to every song), I must've gone outside or something. By the time I attempted to get back in to the show, it was PACKED to the gills and I pretty much gave up on getting anywhere near Menomena for photos. It's all good though, because the band is that good and deserves all the love they were getting from the fans. Knowing I was heading back to Coachella the next morning, I enjoyed the show but left with little fanfare and called it a night.

Rosey's Diary: April 4-11, 2009

When I last left off my diary posts, I finally got to April. This entry picks up on the second week of April and includes The Pheromones (the band), Vegas (The City), The Corner (the bar), The Knew (the band) and some other random stuff. One day I will get back to daily posts. One day...


Saturday (April 4) was a mellow day. I kicked around the neighborhood, ate at Ponce's, talked to my parents who celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary. By nightfall, I was ready for a big night. I have to admit, I was slightly nervous about seeing The Pheromones at 710 Beach Club. It was their CD release party and it was my first time ever at the bar. There's a whole comfort zone thing that happens when you go to the same places over and over; you become accustomed to door guys giving a hug instead of inspecting I.D., you get used to bartenders knowing your drink and actually being friendly. I don't like to leave the comfort zone very often.

The other part is that I met Craig, bassist for the Pheromones, a while back when Jake invited him to my house for a little after hours hanging out. We have become friends and keep in touch here and there. We went to the G.O.P. show at the Beauty Bar together and he gave me an advance of The Pheromones CD. That was an enlightening night because I said I don't like soul or funk and this was blasphemy to Craig. Being wise beyond his years, he recommended some bands and forced me out of my aural comfort zone. Not only did he open my eyes and ears, but when it came time to listen to The Pheromones CD, I totally got it. Still, I prefer to make nice with bands AFTER I'm sure that I like their music because otherwise it can just be weird.

Jake and I made our way to PB, circled for parking, and marvelled at our surroundings. I honestly don't know if I've ever been to P.B. on a Saturday night. Ever. That seems totally crazy to me, but it's true. There was a huge line at 710 when we got there, with probably 75 people waiting to get in, and another line with about a dozen people who were guestlisted, also waiting to get in. The bar was at capacity and they had to move out a bunch of tables and barstools to allow more people. That took about 20 minutes or so, in which time we made contact with Craig. When they finally allowed the lines to move, Craig walked us in ahead of both lines and made me experience a total rock star moment. It's the little things that get me giddy.

Since it was my first time at 710, the first thing I had to do was assess drink prices and then the stage and lighting. A Corona & shot of Cazadores was $13. youch. I went up toward the front as a band was wrapping up their set. I don't know who they were but they had a Jason Mraz thing going on, even down to the fedora. Jake and I were there for a hit and run, however, so we planned on only sticking around for The Pheromones.

One thing can be said, whatever 710 is doing, they know their crowd. These are people who want to rock out, drink heavily, and dance to a live band. And that they did. The stage is pretty small but it seems to work. I guess my overall verdict is that it would take some serious arm twisting for me to go back there but I appreciate what they're doing for P.B. which isn't exactly known as a hub of live music.

As for The Pheromones, the boys know how to bring it and oh, was it broughten. I was taking pictures, but between constantly flashing lights, getting pushed by Hollywood Tan spokesmodels, and having beers splashed all over me, these were the best I could do.







All in all it was a good night. Like I said, I'm not convinced I'll be back at 710 anytime soon, but to a more important point, I HIGHLY recommend that bands play there to diversify their audience a little bit. The people are there to party (as a verb), the Bros talk smack about bros, and a lot of them are walking home so they are there to get piss drunk, and they have money to burn on drinks & merch.

The next morning I was picked up early in the a.m. and headed out to Las Vegas with my family. A couple things happened along the way. First, they told me we were staying at The Flamingo on the Strip instead of Main Street in Downtown, so I was a little bummed by that because Main Street has a free wi-fi lobby. The other thing was that I was going Twitter happy and about half-way to Vegas, I dropped my phone in the console between the driver & passenger seat and it just stopped working. I was freaking out that I would spend 3 days in Vegas with no phone or internet. Someone shoot me.


I really can't complain, however. We did some shopping, our room was really nice, and I got to spend more time with my niece than I have before. I gave in and paid for wi-fi in the room for a 24 hour period, and that was enough for Johanna and I to watch Wow Wow Wubbzy about 100 times, and also to send the SOS that I would need a new phone. I know people love Vegas, but I'm not really one of them, so I made the best of the time with my family and couldn't wait to get home.

I thought I would chill out when I got back, but on Thursday Todd suggested we hit the Padres day game. I have yet to attend a game this season...in fact, I think I skipped last season entirely, so why not? Unfortunately we had the same plan as other people and by the first pitch, we were told it would still take 45 minutes to reach the ticket office from where we were in line. Lame. Pretty sad, too, considering the attendance that day was around 27,000 people. I wonder how many other people left because of the box office logjam.

We wandered around downtown and decided to see if Abraham was working at The Corner, and thankfully he was. We grubbed. The Corner has got a killer bar menu, so I took some pics of our bucket of fried pickles and the bucket of tater tots:

That was just appetizers...I had the ahi burger which was fresh and delicious and had mountains of diced ahi with just enough kick to require a couple beers to wash it down. From there we wandered to Tivoli for a couple beers, then bussed back to Kensington for some margaritas at Ponce's and called it a day.

Friday rolled around and I realized I had quasi-planned a BBQ with Denver band The Knew. I stocked up on supplies at Costco but by the time 7pm rolled around, everyone was doing different things and it ended up just being a couple friends, the band, and me. The Knew were awesome guys and we headed to The Ken where they were playing with Writer and Tape Deck Mountain. It was a good show with bad lighting, so I just took a few photos of The Knew and I really look forward to getting these guys back in town.



Saturday I decided to have a laid back day in the neighborhood and got a call from Petro that they were hanging out at his place, so I hung out there for the afternoon, then went to Toronado to meet Devin. That night ended up being a bit of a marathon night because after Toronado we went to Bar Pink which was packed way before El Ten Eleven even started. Not feeling the crowd, I suggested Soda Bar where we chilled in a booth while NY Rifles, Lady Vain, and Says Rally played. I don't know which band was which, but this guy was just too awesome to not take a picture of.



And required booth shots with my friends:


Devin took off and I finished the night at the Ken where I caught Incomplete Neighbor and wrapped up another fine week of San Diego livin. I took the next two nights off from music and got some work done, caught up on Hulu, got on a new project and tried to make some steps closer to this big website upgrade we're slowly but surely working on. Next diary I'll pick up from where I've left off.

Live at the Luce Loft: Writer & Black Mamba

Sezio.org has the first of the videos from their Live at the Luce Loft series. To me, no video or photos can capture how spectacular those shows were, but for those who didn't make it, here's at least a glimpse of what you missed.

Black Mamba


Writer

Rosey's Diary: Writer & Black Mamba @ Luce Loft, The Bronx @ Casbah 3.25.2009

Wednesday night kicked off what turned out to be quite a spectacular week of local music. Sezio.org coordinated five nights of music at a place called Luce Loft in downtown San Diego. Sandwiched between Sushi Center for the Arts and The Corner on J Street in East Village, the space is an open loft space with concrete walls, arched wooden ceilings, and open space. It's stunning on it's own, but add some couches, a couple giant LoveSacs, some chairs, area rugs, and 100 people with a deep love for San Diego music and arts, and it was completely breathtaking. And all that before the music even started. Sezio specifically paired bands with different sounds in an effort to cross-pollinate the audiences, and they succeeded above and beyond anything I could've imagined. To keep reading my diary about Luce Loft and The Bronx at the Casbah, click 'keep on reading' below.

Swim Party (Just hanging out. They didn't play until Friday.)




Black Mamba kicked off the night with a quiet set that set the stage for what would turn out to be ten of the most unique and moving sets of music I've experienced. Aimee's voice is hypnotic and the music allows you to drift away and I was glad that my first time seeing them was in this setting. I look forard to their record release later this month.



After a short break, Writer played. It was easily my favorite performance from them yet. It's obvious that their SXSW tour helped David gel with the band. Andy played his guitar unplugged and sang a couple feet back from the mic so it really felt organic. Of all the performances of the week, I think that Writer's lyrics lend themselves to singalongs the best, and the crowd took full advantage. You can check my YouTube page for a couple songs from them (though the band is entirely sihouetted because of the dark lighting)



For far better pics, check Too Sunny Out Here and See Michael's Photos in the photo links in the sidebar of this site.

We hung around for a little while after the show, but not too long because we were going to see The Bronx at Casbah. The two shows couldn't have been more night and day, but it was fun nonetheless. I didn't see much of the opening band except that the singer had a two inch gash on his forehead. Apparently he dove off the stage and wasn't caught and landed on glass. Before The Bronx started, I was kinda hanging on the side of the stage thinking that's where I'd stay for their set, but I made a last minute decision to post up on Kenny's side of the stage near the wall. I essentially was just on the outside of the flurry that would turn into the pit. I took an elbow to the mouth at one point, but other than that was mostly unscathed, save for a lot of other people's sweat on me to a point where about 6 songs in I decided I had enough pictures and retreated. The Bronx plays an aggressive adrenaline pumped set that just something that anyone with any roots in hardcore should check out.

The Bronx

Rosey's Diary: 3.12.09-3.17.09

Thanks for the feedback on my "diary" posts. I'm trying to just get to a place where I can get back to daily posts but in the meantime, there's a whole bunch of stuff I don't want to leave out, including that I finally met my 3 month old nephew. But I'll get to that part in a second. For the full diary post, please click 'keep on reading'.



3.12.09: Writer, Birds and Batteries @ Bar Pink
My first night out in five days had to be good, so I made my way to Bar Pink for Birds and Batteries and Writer. I'm trying to re-learn how to use my failing camera, adjusting for the fact that it adds a purple sheen to all my photos, but it also means in poorly lit places I just can't really get any meaningful photos. Yeah, if anyone has a camera laying around that you don't need and would like to donate to the cause, feel free to hit me up. I feel like I just bought this one, though I guess 10,000+ pictures give it a shorter life span than I'd like. Anyway, all that to say I didn't take pictures of Birds and Batteries. Maybe a part of it was because I was annoyed that they played so late. It really only bothered me because I wanted to also try and catch Drew Andrews down the street at the Whistle Stop.

Anyway, I liked Birds and Batteries. “A little bit country, a little bit rock n' roll, a little bit electronic and all kinds of intriguing pop” as they were described by The Onion A/V Club. I'll go with that. I'd definitely see them again, but only if they promise to play on time.

Writer was playing their first show with David after Ely's departure from the band. They had some kinks to work out, but considering David only had a couple weeks to learn the songs before their tour to SXSW and he'd never played in front of an audience before, I thought it was pretty damn sweet. These pics were me kinda going "oh, maybe I should capture their first show with the new guy".



3.13.09: Transfer, Long Live Logos, Crash Encore @ Casbah

Come Friday I was feeling healthy and Jake was still in town, so after watching Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO (it was a good one if you missed it you can see my favorite part here) we headed down to the Casbah. It sold out just as we arrived so it was a bit nutso. We caught up with some friends in the back bar for a while until Transfer started, and I just kicked back and enjoyed the show mostly from the side of the stage. The audience at Transfer shows seems to be growing more diverse and that is clearly a great thing for the band and for music in general in San Diego.

3.14.09: The Silent Comedy, Or, The Whale @ Ken Club

Saturday was a good chill day. I was waiting for word on my sister-in-law's arrival, watched some movies, got through some e-mail, and though I was a little torn between checking out Cursive at the Casbah and seeing The Silent Comedy and Or, The Whale at the Ken Club but I went with the Ken because (1) it meant I didn't have to drive, (2) Or, The Whale had sent me one of the best press kits ever with a handwritten note so they get my eternal love and (3) it was The Silent Comedy's first show ever at the Ken Club so I wanted to show my support to the band and the club. I arrived around 10 and wasn't surprised at all that the room was packed. When I see Or, The Whale, the concept of church revivals suddenly appeal to me...not so much the religious part, but the communal feeling of a large group of people meeting with the same purpose, and in this case, the energy in the room, the clap alongs, and for their final song when they were joined by The Silent Comedy, and I totally got lost in the energy of the room, even in the back where it seemed everyone else there was six feet tall. I spent the duration of The Silent Comedy's set standing on a the top of a booth in the back of the bar so I didn't attempt photos, but it was a great night, only enhanced by being the lucky recipient of a couple free shots and a couple mispoured drinks. I know I haven't written much about The Ken lately, but it will always be my home.

3.15-16.09: Family Time.

My sister in law came to town with my nephew for a few days, so my cousin came down from LA, my friend Nichole came down from San Bernadino, and after an incredible brunch at Cafe Chloe for some amazing mac n cheese and a couple mimosas, we visited my grandma. For reasons I won't go into, I hadn't seen Nana in several years, but it was pretty incredible seeing four generations in one room. She's 100 years old and got to see her 3 month old great-grandson for the first time ever, along with my niece, and the rest of my family. After we hung out at my parents' house and oohed and ahhed over the babies.


We spent Monday at the zoo where there are babies EVERYWHERE, including some adorable baby meerkats, a new baby gorilla, arangutan, and a new pair of grizzlies and hyenas. If you have a zoo pass, it's time to take advantage and see some of the adorable babies that spring has sprung.

3.17.09: St. Patrick's Day

I got my St. Patty's Day going early by visitin Todd at the Ken Club, then getting dinner at Ponce's when he got off his shift. I decided I'd keep track of my alcohol intake with a sharpie on my arm and let's just say that even that didn't work because I lost track at some point of the Guinness and Jameson that was pouring freely. The Down's Family played a kick ass super long set and the bar was really festive but without the frat-boy cheeseball green beer mentality.



I even had a small after party with some friends. On a Tuesday. So yes, a very good night indeed. And that's where I'll leave off until I upload the pictures from the past week. xoxo.