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obliteration of the rules of grammar
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| Universities and Rodeos |
[Jul. 20th, 2006|09:41 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Anything and everything by the Dead Milkmen | ] |
No more fucking school FOREVER!!! God damn after nearly 12 years. I'm so looking forward to doing jack shit for a while.
I did my first television interview for the local ABC affliate channel 7. It aired this evening in the "Sarasota Scene" segment. It was all too weird. I received a phone call yesterday around noon from the news anchor wanting to do a segment on the bicycle rodeo I'm organizing at my library. I reluctantly agreed to do the interview and I had to help coax some kids into pretending to be really excited about the event for the camera. It was all so silly and surreal. During the taping, the news anchor wanted to hop on a kid's bike to segue into the segment. She ended up toppling over and I was pretyty freaked that she got hurt. But she just shrugged it off and said she'd save it for the blooper real. I was quite surprised that her spill was actually aired. Well hopefully some kids will come out to ride some bikes this weekend. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 22nd, 2006|09:16 pm] |
Microsoft Publisher 1, Hal 0
Thwarted again! |
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| ASTHMA ATTTAQ TOUR!!! |
[Dec. 15th, 2005|03:27 pm] |
ASTHMA ATTTAQ Final Tour Schedule (more or less):
Dec 17th: Jacksonville, FL @ the Pit w/Merkit + skate deck art show
Dec 18th: Atlanta, GA @ IDEFY House w/ Paul Joyner and local screamo bands.
Dec 19th: Cookeville, TN @ house show w/ Paul Joyner
Dec 20th: Johnson City, TN @ the Hideaway w/Paul Joyner
Dec 21st: Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon ST w/ Paul Joyner and the Kessel Run
Dec 22nd: Washington D.C. @ house show w/ Paul Joyner, Excelone, Danke, and Merkit
Dec 23rd: Warwick, NY @ Tuscan Cafe w/ Paul Joyner, Frame, Canvas The Human
Dec 24th: Philly, PA @ The Be Happy House (early show!) w/ Paul Joyner and Merkit
Dec 25th: Off
Dec 26th: Moline, IL @ Lazer Mansion w/ Lazer Mountain and Leon.
Dec 27th: Des Moines, IA @ House of Bricks w/ Lazer Mountain, This Dialogue, and An Airbag Saved My Life
Dec 28th: Fargo, ND @ VFW w/ Lazer Mountain
Dec 29th: Sioux Falls, SD @ Josh's House w/ Lazer Mountain
Dec 30th: Sioux City, IA @ Cattle Club Collective w/ Lazer Mountain
Dec 31st: Off
Jan 1st: St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Arts
Jan 2nd: Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's Bar (Kirkwood Ballers Club)...also playing a proper show that night... Ghengis Tron, Capillary Action and Untied States
Jan 3rd: Satellite Beach, FL @ American Legion w/ Coffin Dancer, Devices, Cryptorchid Chipmunk + others.
From Dec 18th - 24th Asthma Atttaq will be touring with Paul Joyner.
PAUL JOYNER, formerly of DC-based bands such as Bear & the Butterfly, Tide to the Sidelines, and Fred Foss Jazz Orchestra (which was invited to open for Herbie Hancock at the 2000 Havana Jazz Festival, curated by Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez). touring solo for the first time, Paul also has two entire full-length albums available for download at his website.
http://www.slowfidelity.com/pauljoyner
From Dec 26th - 30th Asthma Atttaq will be touring with Lazer Mountain.
Hailing from Moline, IL LAZER MOUNTAIN can best be described as band of hessians riding anything that floats down the mississippi to share a pipe with a vampire at the cemtary. Think Black Dice/The Who/The Locust.
http://www.myspace.com/lazermountain |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 20th, 2005|10:22 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cranky | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Belle Epoque - Demo CD-R | ] |
Sunday night and 700 words to go. Yee Haw!!!
Asthma Atttaq "Breathe Heavy" Review:
From EmpMe Music Blog:
http://www.lovehasnologic.com/empme/
I recently just made a rather cumbersome order of records from 29 North Records, the distribution arm of Level-Plane. When you peruse their store you know what you’re going to get. It’s an e-paradise for all things screamy, aggressive, passionate and well under the radar of the average music listener. I’ve never been steered wrong with any release that Level-Plane has put out and when I started ordering record’s from Greg’s mailorder I would always take a chance and purchase a few random records here and there. While embarked upon my most recent spending spree a band caught my eye, Asthma Atttaq. It was the artwork and the name. Something about it told me it’d be good. I didn’t even read the descriptions, I just clicked add to cart for each and every release that was in stock. Then, as is usually the case, I promptly forgot about it. A couple days ago I was opening my package and going through all my new goodies. I got towards the bottom of the stack and I saw my Asthma Atttaq records, prompting a loud, “Who the fuck? What?” That moment I realized what I must do, and that doing is being done as these words get added to the post.
As I wrote that introductory paragraph the music started. The guitars were thick, like on the first Exploder album. I’d be surprised if they didn’t play Mesa Boogie amps. After about 3 and a half minutes I began to think that I had gotten myself another instrumental album to add to my CD shelves. Write as I was about to put the thought to computer screen the vocals kicked in. Balls out screaming that held strong to everything I loved about screamo circa 1998. Leafing through the liner notes, the missing low-end in the recording that was nagging at me comes from the fact that the band is a duo. Both masked, David drums, Ry plays guitar (with what is sure to be plenty of effects pedals and processors) and both scream. Vocally, think Sleepytime Trio, Exploder, early Coalesce. It’s ear splitting, vocal chord grinding, glass breaking nails on chalkboard ecstasy.
I’m now at the end of track 02 and I can safely say that this is in fact one of the best hardcore records I’ve heard in a while. Crazy guitar licks, dead pan drumming and nothing but passion oozing through every inch of the recording. If you don’t head over to Level-Plane and buy everything this band has right now then you may as well go kill a baby kitten because you obviously hate everything that’s great in life. And Asthma Atttaq my friends, is the fucking greatest. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 18th, 2005|10:11 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Advantage - Elf-Titled | ] |
It's 10:00 Friday. I've got a 15 page paper due Monday, which I haven't started. I've got a coke and a red bull desk side. It's on! |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 11th, 2005|08:52 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | awake | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The New Pornographers _ Twin Cinema | ] |
Since Matt mentioned it, here is some updates from Forever Escaping Boredom Headquarters:
Reviews
From The All Night Eatery
Asthma Atttaq “Breathe Heavy” Forever Escaping Boredom Records
Making music that falls under the genre of noise is a difficult medium to master. It is often tempting to make sense of nonsensical chaos. South Florida’s Asthma Atttaq is a relatively young band that follows in the footsteps of bands like Lightning Bolt. In an effort to bring creativity to a generally shallow music scene, AA unloads an assault of illogical drumming and deafening screams. On Breathe Heavy, they take advantage of a decent recording and produce technical insanity.
“Pick them Bones Dry” begins with a stinging guitar riff and well-planned drums that drive through the five minutes that the track exists. Complexity is the key. Other songs like “Apostrophe Die” sound a bit more like the generic hardcore that they try to stray from. However, it is not so overwhelming that the record loses touch with its goal: to give you a puzzles look and force you to say “huh?” The liner notes identify the drummer as David and the guitarist as Ry. David is quite brutal with drumsticks. Throughout the album he surprises the listener with random rolls and time changes. Ry manages to hold his own too. In the midst of the chaos, he often lays down strong guitar riffs and inane rhythmatic choices to interact with the drums.
A good description of this band would be “Diet Lightning Bolt”. They crank out insanity, but are more grounded into rock and roll formats than the Bolt. They are a little less absurd than your typical noise outfit, but they are still ridiculous enough to do a good job. They seem like they would put on a very energetic live show. 7/10
If you’ve ever driven more than 8 hours to see Hella: 8/10
If you’ve ever driven more than 8 hours to see Paul Oakenfold: 4/10
From: Art Noise
Asthma Attaq
Breathe Heavy
Forever Escaping Boredom Records
I wonder how I would feel about this album if I had no idea what the band name was, or what the song titles were. The music here largely falls into the screamo/artsy hardcore category; there’s a lot of swift, angular guitars, a lot of gritty, throaty vocals, a lot of riff and rhythmic shifts. The songs are undeniably complex and visceral. This is the kind of stuff that you’d usually associate with Level Plane Records, with bands that take themselves really seriously and write poetic, tortured songs. But the “q” in “Asthma Attaq” should be your first clue that these guys are just a little goofy, and have more than just a little bit of a metal sensibility. The music here straddles the line between hardcore and metal, keeping listeners on their toes, and making us think a little bit harder than we normally would about your average ten-track screamo record.
For instance: one of the strongest songs on this album begins with a lovely, tranquil guitar line. The sound builds slowly over time, introducing more and more elements—screamed vocals, distortion—until the song is hard and intense, rolling out of the speakers like thunder. Yet, the subtlety of the original line is still under there, somewhere, peeking out every few bars between the lulls in the distortion. It’s an admirable, skilled fusion between raging and subdued moods. And what is this song called? “I Don’t Care If She Is Ms. Hairless America I’m Spoken For.”
There are similarly jarring juxtapositions throughout the album: a decidedly artsy-sounding screamo song that will suddenly interrupt itself with an undeniably metalcore lick. Guitars that are just a little too bright for the solemn, angular lines that are being played. A song called “Pick Them Bones Dry.” Now, the idea of fusing hardcore/screamo/metal is not a new one, and it’s not a bad idea either. I do think, however, that Asthma Attaq needs to get their fusion to a more seamless level so that the contrasts work the way they’re supposed to work. We should be startled or jarred, but not because something sounds out of place; we should be caught off guard by the way two disparate elements are so smoothly joined together.
That having been said, the songs are overall pretty strong; Asthma Attaq have several strengths—unrelated to their genre-bending—that serve this album well. Instrumental developments/jams feature prominently in these tracks, and the band is adept at building moods and textures over the course of these jams. The last two songs in particular—“Premium Prosthetics” and “Theme for the Avenger”—are especially strong in this respect. The band also has a knack for introductions; many of these songs are five and six minutes long, so a captivating opener is crucial to pull the listener in for the relatively lengthy ride. While most of the songs ultimately have similar sounds (which is the case for the vast majority of albums anyways), each track opens with a different and intriguing mood.
I’ll be interested to see how Asthma Attaq chooses to approach their next album. The basic skills and structures are definitely in place right now; I think this band just needs to figure out how to balance the metal/screamo elements of their sound. I think the band is capable of doing either genre well, and I think they could also muster up a respectable fusion, if they worked at it a bit. Personally, I’m rooting for the screamo side, but that’s just me.
From: Shoot Me Again It's a Webzine from Belgium...so the translation is a bit poor.
Asthma Atttaq
Breathe Heavy (Forver Escaping Boredom
I remained scotché with this disc a good moment when I received it. It is rather damaged what this states-uniens group offers to us. Finally a group it is a great word because they are that two: a guitar-song and a battery-song.
It is hyper varied in fact! Atmospheric passages calm goods hyper with pretty delay effects and all the touintouin... Then y' has of them one which pète a hose connection and that explodes. That mouth and that sings. It is barred enough, to see noisy per moment, even mathrock, or emo, but also hardcore, or experimental... Bon you voyé topo: that tears.
Here some ingredients: much madness, not badly of ideas, a suspicion of HOT CROSS-country RACE, a suspicion of CITY OF CATERPILLAR, a good ladle of SNACTRUCK, a pinch of cries, a spoon of insanity... etc etc the whole left on the good label Forever Escaping Boredom. And for saying true, I prefer frankly this disc in Split LP divided with DIRTY SOUTH APOCALYPSE (which have also are very good!).
Lastly, maintaining with you to see whether you want to launch out in the discovery of this group. Me I would be you, I would test... That is worth the blow of it!
In other news Asthma Atttaq has a new 7" coming out on the excellent German label http://www.nimbusmodule.de/ Discussion about a German tour are in the works.
Also in the works is an Asthma Atttaq Winter Tour. All dates in the midwest will be with Lazer Mountain.
Here are the tentative dates:
Dec.17th – Jacksonville, FL @ the Pitt (also a skateboard deck art show)
Dec.18th – GA (Savannah, Atlanta, Athens…) need help!!!
Dec.19th – TN need help!!!
Dec.20th – KY need help!!!
Dec.21st – Columbus, OH @ Café Bourbon Street w/ the Kessel Run and Paul Joyner
Dec.22nd – Washington DC @ Café Mawonaj w/Excelone, Danke, Jiyuna, and Paul Joyner
Dec.23rd – NY??? (I thought this show was confirmed, but haven’t heard from the promoter in a long time)
Dec.24th - Philadelphia, PA @ Be Happy House (early show) w/Merkit, Paul Joyner and others
Dec.25th - Day off (unless some one could help in IL or IN)
Dec.26th – Des Moines, IA @ House of Bricks w/Lazer Mountain
Dec.27th – Sioux Falls, SD @ house show w/Lazer Mountain
Dec.28th – Fargo, ND @ VFW w/Lazer Mountain
Dec.30th – Bismark, ND @ tba w/Lazer Mountain
Dec.31st – Moline, IL @ the Lazer Mansion w/ Lazer Mountain
Jan 1st - Tenn???
Jan 2nd – Alabama???
Jan 3rd – Somewhere in FL???
In all the stuff going on with Asthma Atttaq I almost forgot that I just had a new record drop.
Yossarian is Drowning - s/t 7"
Hailing from the U.K., Yossarian is Drowning plays emotional hardcore in the vein of Kaospilot, Portraits of Past and Hot Cross. On their debut E.P. the lads from Shrewsbury take aim at organized religion and those who fuck up the environment. Think screamy vocals and passionate music that alternates between aggressive riffs and hypnotic melodies. They also have a track on React With Protest's "Emo Armageddon" compilation. 100 copies on black/white swirl vinyl.
Lastly, I've updated my distro list. So check it out Distro List |
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| This is Funny |
[Oct. 4th, 2005|03:24 pm] |
Kit! – s/t CD 7/19:48
Kids playing pop-punk goes together almost as well and almost as often as a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. This time around we have a Florida outfit called Kit!...three dudes and a lady singer, they sound like an upbeat and less interesting version of Ashes, or something like that. Man, I really loved that Ashes CD back in 95 or so when it came out, and I would have probably liked this some too, but not so much now. But I bet the kids in their town go crazy for them, probably writing their name on their backpacks in white-out and wearing homemade Kit! Patches on the jean jacket they bought at Hot Topic. Jake
@ www.purevolume.comkit/music |
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| Asthma Atttaq Record Release Show!!! |
[Aug. 16th, 2005|01:06 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  grumpy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | This Is My Fist | ] |
Asthma Atttaq Record Release Show @ the Olympia Theatre
Olympia Theatre
600 7th Ave W
Palmetto, FL 34221
Contact Hal: 941-729-3874
8/26/2005, Sarasota punk/noise duo Asthma Atttaq playing in support of
their new CD "Breathe Heavy" with special guests: Towering Inferno and the
Punching Contest, 6:30 - 10:00, $8 admission or $10 and receive a CD
I know the price is steep, but it's beyond my control. It's difficult trying to explain diy/punk ethos to folks who have no knowledge of it. I wanted to keep the door price at $5, but the Olympia's owners have this philosophy that if you charge to little noone will think it is a good show. Pretty absurd. I've argued over this, but to no avail. It is a cool venue, but I doubt I'll set up anything with them again. Anyways I'm selling CDs dirt cheap as an incentive. Since the scope of my LJ reach is rather small everyone please pass the info along. |
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| Dreaming of Pizza....zzz..zzz..zzz... |
[Aug. 5th, 2005|11:20 pm] |
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Tonight's dinner consisted of whatever vegetables I could find to throw in my juicer. Broccoli, carrots, cucumber, celery, garlic... Unfortunatley, I made the mistake of putting in too much garlic (5-6 cloves) and nearly retched trying to gulp it down. I was able to get down about a quarter of the 32oz. cup, but I couldn't take it anymore. Bleah!!! I ended up eating a ton of grapes to get the garlic taste off my tongue. One more full day of this dietary experiment then veggie sushi...yum. I'm actually feeling pretty good, not tired and lethargic as usual. At the very least I'll try staying off sodas, fast food, and other temptations (pizza and french fry vegetarianism) junk food vegetarians often succumb to. |
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| Gimme Some High Fructose Corn Syrup!!! |
[Aug. 3rd, 2005|10:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | busy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Reds - demo | ] |
So far I'm on day 2 of my raw foods diet. I'm trying to make it till Sunday evening eating only raw fruits and vegetables. Ever since I moved back to Florida in 02 I've really been eating like shit. It's weird to think I was strictly vegan for so many years and now my diet consists of lots of fast food, lots of soda, and lots of dairy. So since school is out I figured it was as good a time as any to get a grip on my lifestyle choices. I decided to go on raw foods for the next few days to allow my body to recouperate after all the junk I've put in it and also as an excercise in discipline. I'm trying to hold out until Pacific Rim on Sunday. I'm doing pretty good so far and actually feel lighter and more energetic, but not consuming caffeine and high fructuse corn syrup has left me coping with some wicked withdrawal headaches.
Here's my food consumption thus far:
Day 1
Breakfast: nectarine, banana, and cherries
Lunch: plum, nectarine, apple
Mid-Afternoon Snack: plum
Dinner: tomato slices, cucumber slices, and avacado w/ rice vinegar and seasining to taste
Dessert: Cherries
Day 2
Breakfast: chopped strawberries and bananas, and cherries
Lunch: plum, nectarine, 2 bananas
Mid-Afternoon Snack: apple
Dinner: 1 large carrot, a glass of carrot/celery/garlic juice
Dessert: Cherries
After I finish this on Sunday, I'm not sure whether I'll go vegan again or not. I'd like to, but I'd be okay using dairy sparingly and preferably organic. We'll see.
In other news I'm probably going to set up a proper record release show for Asthma Atttaq towards the end of August. It'll probably be at the Olympia Theatre in Palmetto, which is a really cool children's theatre and has a stage that is decorated to look like a castle. It's outdoors and the owners are friendly and genuinely just want some "art" going on in the heart of conservative Palmetto. Though they typically charge kids more than I feel comfortable with and shows must end by 10:00 because of the noise.
To make up for a long hiatus I've got quite a few things coming out in the not some distant future:
FEB-006 Ispoke "Autobiography" CD - Feminist, Anti-capitalist emo from Canada
FEB-007 Yossarian is Drowning 7" - Pansy violence from the UK
FEB-008 Arse Moreira/Black Castle - split 7" - Screamo from Mexico vs. Posi-Goth Darkwave from NC
and it also looks like I'll be doing the U.S. Pressing of Belle Epoque's Full-length. Wheew... |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 31st, 2005|05:04 pm] |
Ahhh the long weekend is dying down. My expectations fell short, but I did get some stuff done. With school done for the semester I've got about a month or so where my plate won't be so full. My big task this weekend was trying to reorganize my closet downstairs which has become a dissaster area. I got that accomplished and in the process tossed out about two years worth of the Nation, New Republic, Extra, Atlantic Monthly, and tons of zines that have been accumulating. It would have been nice to donate the magazines to the library and the zines to a zine library somewhere, but the truth is I would never get around to it. So now I have a nicely organized area to store all of my records and button press and winter clothes. Next week my goal is to get my utility room cleaned which will ultimately become the office for my record label. My wife made me a deal that if I clean it out, she would call someone to make it climiate controlled since humidity and heat = vinyl's worst nightmare. Hopefully I'll get a table down there to futz around with silkscreening.
Friday I went to the sorta record release show for the Asthma Atttaq CD. I say sorta because the CD was available, but it wasn't a proper record release show. It was pretty sparsely populated, but I had a good time. Asthma Atttaq used this vocal pedal, which made Ry's vocals all weird (in a good way) and they introduced themselves as Yip-Yip, which was funny.
Ironing Played next and it is always a treat to watch Andrew play. John thought the sound was low, but I thought he sounded good.
Railsplitter cancelled...and then next were two mosh metal bands. Of Angels and Gravediggers has the old singer from Cease taking up the vocal work. Nothing Promise played last. Nothing Memorable. I have nothing against metal stuff and actually enjoy quite a few bands from the genre, but why do bands of that genre love playing mid-tempo?
I've got a week off coming soon to be productive so I say I'm off to a good start.
Andrew working his sound manipulation
Asthma Atttaq announcing David's graduation from highschool. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 7th, 2005|12:52 pm] |
Wow!!! I work at one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the nation.
North Sarasota Library sets ‘Gold’ standard in energy efficiency
Sarasota County’s North Sarasota Public Library has earned “Gold” level designation from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDÔ). It becomes only the fourth building in Florida to earn the prestigious rating, which recognizes buildings based on their energy conservation and environmental operations, and one of only 278 LEED certified buildings in the U.S.
Located at 2801 Newtown Blvd., the North Sarasota Public Library is the first building in Sarasota County to earn LEED certification. Begun in July 2003 and completed in August 2004 at a cost of $3.6 million, the 25,000-square-foot library was designed as a multicultural center for the community. Karl Brown, AIA, of Sarasota’s Fleishman Garcia Architects, is the architect of record. Naples-based Kraft Construction Company Inc. was the contractor.
“This is an impressive accomplishment,” said USGBC’s assistant certification manager Max Zahniser. His final review lauded the library for excellence in five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. The building’s innovation and design process were also recognized.
The “Gold” designation is the second-highest rating that a building can achieve through the LEED program. Only 10 buildings in the U.S. have received the higher “Platinum” rating. Only 69 have earned the “Gold” rating. The only three other buildings in Florida that have been certified “Gold” are Rinker Hall at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Happy Feet Plus in Clearwater and the Navy Federal Credit Union in Pensacola.
The North Sarasota Public Library becomes the fifth library in the country to be LEED certified, and only the second to be certified “Gold.” |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 29th, 2005|10:00 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the Evens | ] |
It appears that the Asthma Atttaq "Breathe Heavy" CD will be finished July 14th. For those interested I'm taking pre-orders now. They're $7 ppd. Tentatively we're having a record release show at the Orpheum in Ybor City on July 29th with Railsplitter, Nothing Promise, and others. More details soon...
I had a major facelift done to the website recently and have become competent enough to update it. Hopefully I'll have some time on my hands mid-July to learn more about web design along with silk-screening and photoshop.
Forever Escaping Boredom Records |
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| Yr Oxen Have Drowned Fest!!! |
[Jun. 22nd, 2005|05:26 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Scrog/Reversal of Man/Calvary = morining driving music | ] |
Yr Oxen Have Drowned Fest
June 24th - 3PM | 4816 Thorpe Ave Orlando, 32804 | $3 for the KEG | Rain or Shine
This is from the horse’s mouth. Will be killer!
Everything is looking good, and we are ready to rock at 2pm on
friday. Here is the playing order that I have as of right now.
2:00- Allegory of the Cave
2:40- Someone Stole my BMX
3:20- Beneath Low Flying Planes
4:00- Geanie Friedman
4:40- Yip-Yip
5:20- Devices
6:00- Josh @ deadtank
6:40- Towering Inferno
7:20- Ironing
8:00- Asthma Atttaq
8:40- Skeleton Damage (Combined set of Whats Yr Damage? and
Skeleton Warrior)
Helpful things to bring:
1-Tarps- we are going to build a porch of sorts in case of rain
and
to cover shit. The weather forcast says 30% chance of rain... so
it
should rain for like half an hour sometime in the
day.
2-Mic stands
3-chairs for ppl
4-PA- ours dont work no more |
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| Some necessary political spamming! |
[Jun. 15th, 2005|12:00 pm] |
Subject: This time, it's for real: Save NPR and PBS
Hi,
You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)
Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/
A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.
The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.
Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 400,000 signatures today?
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/
Thanks!
P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745 |
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| More Reviews.... |
[Jun. 14th, 2005|10:57 am] |
More Reviews:
From Fountain
Asthma Attaq/ Dirty south apocalypse split 12”
Asthma Attaq: Why isn’t this band more popular? When this record begins it begins with a soundscape that oozes with eerie melodies and well used effects that are used to create and atmosphere and complement. The further I get into this labyrinth, the more lost I feel, AA take the listener through a winding corridor of hardcore, noise, post rock, and jazz and they do it absolutely flawlessly from song to song. This band has been Florida ’s best kept secret for far too long and I hope that one day I’ll be able to see this band live!
Dirty South Apocalypse: Dirty South Apocalypse’s side of this record is much darker than the Asthma Attaq side. What I found very interesting was the fact that a specific genre cannot be applied to this band. Their songs are very melodic, but too brutal to be called “screamo” and too soft and lulling to be called just straight up hardcore. The songs seamlessly blend together to create the feeling that this is truly an album as opposed to a collection of songs.
Over all this split is amazing and is better than ¾ of records that are being released in this day and age. The two bands work very well together and I expect big things from both of them.
Spirit of Versailles – In Line for Halos EP
Thanks to forever escaping boredom records the first Spirit of Versailles 7” is now available again to vinyl junkies everywhere. The vinyl itself looks great on sky blue/white marble vinyl. We’ve all heard the spirit of Versailles before, and for the most part we’ve all heard this record before. But for anyone that hasn’t, the thing that has always drawn me to this band is the guitar work, while I’m sure most people feel that the guitar work is nothing special, what I’ve always liked is that they manage to sound a lot fuller than a lot of emo bands of that period. I’d recommend this record, but you probably already own it.
Review from Razorcake #26:
Dirty South Apocalypse/Asthma Atttaq: Split: LP
The Dirty South Apocalypse side comes out swingin': awesome spazzy hardcore with great vocals that remind me of Employer, Employee but with a raw, dirtier edge. You know how there are a few metalcore bands that started off good before they got lame? They kinda sound like one of those bands. But oh, the record's going all good and now this last song hits and it's this totally wimpy boring emo suckfest. What happened guys?
Asthma Attaq are really cool spacey hardcore with all kinds of cool, trippy parts that sound a bit like Tarantula Hawk or Yeti, and it even kinda sounds like Yes a little bit. It's really interesting and held my attention throughout. This is a record worth getting, for sure. - Ben Snakepit |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 9th, 2005|06:58 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  satisfied | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Mix MD w/Neko Case, Hot Hot Heat, and the Country Slashers | ] |
Ahh the weekend is near at hand. I have tomorrow off and will be spending the day with Maxamilian and hoping to catch in some episodes of Chappelle's Show Season 2. Sunday will be some BBQ action at Phil and Liz's place. I'm hoping as soon as school's over for the Summer I'll have some time to hone my silk screening skills (non-existent at the present). I'd like to get proficient enough to silk screen my own record jackets and make some old school t-shirts. How else would I ever be able to obtain a Chokehold shirt in XXL? I should also have tons of records coming in for distro. Yeah! School's a bear, but I've only got like month left so I'll perservere. I almost got away with taking all my classes on-line, but I have to make 1 trek to Orlando and 1 to Tampa. I'm on the circulation desk...I'm starting to ramble...goodbye.... |
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| Edging Into Old Age XXX |
[Jun. 3rd, 2005|11:37 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Over My Dead Body - "Drug Free Adults" | ] |
This is just too hilarious. I found this news item from the local Reno Nevada News:
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/1592996.html
Straight Edge Fringe Named Gang
Reno
Updated: 8:12 AM Jun 1, 2005
Koula Gianulias
Straight Edge teens say no to drugs, drinking and sex. Most parents would say, that's a good thing. The problem is some of these kids are taking their beliefs too far. Police say they are considered a gang because some are lashing out violently against other kids who don't follow their lifestyle.
"They're pretty much terrorizing kids in their owns schools," says Sgt. Walt Frazier with the Regional Gang Unit.
"Some of their weapons of choice are bats, brass knuckles, knives, pepper spray and mace," says Officer Paul Adamson, also with the Regional Gang Unit.
It's a lifestyle based on positive behavior. But an extremist fringe has grown out of this philosophy, leading the Regional Gang Unit to classify a group of strait edgers as a gang. They're considered "hard core" and apparently feel its their obligation to enforce their beliefs.
Police say they target kids who smoke and drink. Usually draped in dark clothing with dyed black hair, they're known for starting trouble at a sporting events, or showing up at parties they weren't invited to and provoking a fight. Police also say because they come from more affluent families, they've got the technology - like cell phones and computers - to organize rapidly.
The Washoe County School District has banned all straight edge clothing and paraphernalia. They're also urging parents to talk to their kids about any sort of organization they've joined, and the level of their involvement.
"It is wise to avoid militants of all plumage, To trust only the fanatically unfanatic" - Frederik Frank |
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| I Should Really Be Doing My Homework |
[May. 23rd, 2005|11:45 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  blah | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the frog outside my window | ] |
In the spirit of D.I.Y. I've become a reluctant distro-er. I've been doing some trading lately with other labels and so far have the following available:
From Sqaure of Opposition Records
http://www.geocities.com/squareofopposition/
The Oktober Skyline 12" - grindy shit a la Daughters in a rad silkscreened jacket.
Hypatia/Robot Attack split 7" - vegan sxe posi-core vs. PA thrash.
Le Thief/Jr. League split 7" - a slabs worth of folk punk.
Get to the Chopper 7" - insane noise/grind.
From Cleansing Power of Fire
http://www.triangleandrhino.com/
Triangle & Rhino "Take Out Your Knives" CD -insane metallic hardcore with keyboards.
CD/LP - $7, 7" - $3.50
I should have trades from Moo Cow records coming shortly.
http://www.moocowrecords.com/
I also am starting to do reviews for Viva La Vinyl. Thus far I have reviews up for Light Yourself on Fire and Towering Inferno. If they can stomach my gramatical errors, I'll be doing more.
http://vivalavinyl.org/
Lastly I'll be getting some more distro help from Nova Recordings in Europe. They'll be carrying copies of the DSA/AA 12' and the Spirit of Versailles 7".
http://www.novarecordings.de/ |
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