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Chik Chik Chik plays tonight at the Henry Fonda. I'll be there. But last night, three "chicks" were playing at various venues around town. First, Anna Nalick at the Joint. She's signed to Columbia Records and has been playing around town a lot more often since completing her new record due sometime this fall, I believe. She's definitely got talent, still a little raw, but should find a fanbase with kids who still can't believe Lilith Fair is over. Unfortunately, her material seems a bit too manufactured for AOR still but she does have two acoustic ballads that actually show promise of something better... Canada's Sarah Slean was playing at Tangier. Didn't take any pictures because I pretty much just ran in there and then ran back out but she once did a showcase for Atlantic Records years ago at Luna Park. I liked her and still think she's got the goods. Her new record has distro through Warner Canada with nothing yet written in stone for a US release... Over at the Echo, Jessica Dobson was just finishing up her set. She recently got signed to Atlantic a few months ago. An unusual signing from such a conservative label but maybe it's a positive sign of things to come because she's good... Shortly after midnight, Ratatat hit the Cinespace stage with their dance rock instrumentals. So simple but so undeniably catchy.
Rat-tat-tat-tat with their caps peelin' back... cause it's 1-8-7 on an undercover cop.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copies.
Artware Installation
Scion presented "Installation" on Saturday featuring some of the best graffiti artists in the world including Axis, Swank, George Thompson, Persue, and many others. Aceyalone MC'd the event with Garth Trinidad and Mason providing jazz breaks and rare grooves throughout the night until Jaylib and special guest Peanut Butter Wolf took the stage. Some youngster in the crowd yelled "shut up" to Aceyalone as he was doing shout outs to the artists and the sponsors. Needless to say, that was a mistake. Freestyle Fellowship for life yo.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copies.Like half the myspace world, I decided to head out to the Troubadour to see Matt Costa and Run Run Run last night. Costa's EP was one of my favorites from last year. After helping a friend with a student film at CSUF, I went to The Hub and saw him for the first time last summer. He's pretty damn good. Anyway, he just finished a tour with No Doubt. He and Patrick Park are like twins or something... I received RunX3's demo a year or so ago. There was this song called "Beautiful Feeling" that I liked and obviously "Drizzle" is great, especially live. Hadn't seen them in awhile. Had to leave early for another thing but I'm sure The 88 did well without me. Still, it was good to see LA coming out for local bands at a big venue. Hip hop hooray.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copies.Before I left for SF, I did check out some stuff. Maimou played at the Silverlake Lounge. I've taken a lot of photos of them over the years but never really posted any for public display. Well, since they're finally releasing their first LP in a few weeks, I think it's appropriate that those who have never seen them, see them now. I blurbed about them on various lists the other day hoping to spark some interest in their LP. I think it worked...
Also went to the Fuck Yeah Fest in Echo Park ... It was crowded and poorly run but the lineup was nearly perfect. Really wanted to get some shots of Giant Drag and The Mean Reds but only managed to get the latter.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copiesArrived back in Los Angeles in good time with half the insect population encrusted on my windshield to prove it. Went down to Westwood for a bit to visit a friend and stopped by the Acoustic Live showcase at Westwood Brewery. Hoped to catch Quincy and Joe Purdy but they were running behind so we left early for the Wiltern to catch a bit of Ozma. I had just taken my little brother to see this tour the night before in Santa Cruz so I really didn't need to stay for the whole thing. However, Ozma is always worth a visit. Roberto Carmine's uncle Francis Ford Coppola and members of The Donnas were sitting VIP. Galvez mentioned Allison Robertson was dating Taylor Locke of Rooney so that explains that. Left a few songs into Rooney's set for the Chapin Sisters at Vine. Nice. Never been to this club before and I like it. It's supposed to be some hip fondue bar but everyone seemed nice. I wish they'd post their lineups somewhere though. Before heading to The Echo, my intestines suddenly reminded my I hadn't eaten since the Rice Krispy treat I nibbled on while passing Coalinga (you know, that stretch on Highway 5 where all you smell is manure from that whole hillside of cows). So I stopped by Zankou. At The Echo, The Colour were celebrating the release of "The Colour is Out and About." They open for Dios and Earlimart on 7/31 at the Troubadour. Good to be back.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copiesUp in the Bay Area for a few days. Inevitable I'd see some things...
First, decided to stop by a group art show at  the Shooting Gallery to see Montreal's Heidi Taillefer and SF's Anne Faith Nicholls coupled with LA's Helen Garber and Liz McGrath. I've loved Taillefer's stuff since seeing the artwork she did for Cirque du Soleil's Dralion. And anyone who knows me knows how much I'm in love with McGrath. Since seeing her in the band Tongue at the Sunset Room, oh gosh, years ago I've always admired anything she's done from her band's flyers to her new project Miss Derringer. And I still think Tongue was one of the best LA bands ever.
After a bit of an art lesson we strolled over to the Cafe Du Nord for Martha Wainwright. She just released a new EP called "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole." Saw her last year open for Jon Brion and she opened with a song called "Factory," which nearly made me want to grab her and make love to her. This time I was able to control myself with several Risperdals. She really should stop playing around and move to LA though... Amy Cooper also played but we missed her. Keep an eye out for her too. She moved back to SF (from NY) and is starting to play regularly up and down the west coast.
Saw some other things (Devendra Banhart, Emily Haines) and ate at some good spots (Luna Park on Valencia St.). But if anyone has any recommendations I'm up here for a few more days. In other news, Lisa Germano has a few dates coming up opening for David Byrne:
8/14/04 - Big Easy, Spokane, WA
8/15/04 - Pier 62/63 Seattle, WA
8/17/04 - Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater, Reno, NV
8/18/04 - John Van Duzer Theatre Arcata, CA
8/20/04 - Oregon Zoo Amphiteatre, Portland, OR
8/21/04 - Britt Pavillion, Jacksonville, OR
8/22/04 - Cal State University - Laxson Auditorium, Chico, CA
8/24/04 - The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
8/25/04 - The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Oh, one more thing... I convinced Gregory to add a myspace page. Be nice and add him. He's really a good guy.
Photos removed for bandwidth. Contact me if you'd like copies Had to work over the holiday, typical 4th of July. Pretty much worked straight through the weekend and nearly forgot about all the Independence Day action until I heard the booms and fizzles of fireworks coming from the festivities down by the marina. Tried to sleep around 6am (in tears after Portugal's loss to Greece) and still heard several M80-like bursts so I called the 5-0 on those delinquent bitches.
The Gregory Page website is done. Before you critique, let me tell you all that it was done in about three days without much design points except that he wanted big, rough fonts and pictures. That's it. No examples. Nothing. So with a 3-day deadline (he needs to promote his upcoming tour with Marshall Crenshaw), I did what I could. With that said, send hate mail to  hateallyouwant@icouldcareless.com.
A little background on Gregory Page... In the early 90's, I lived in San Diego and used to hang around the cafes of Pacific and Ocean Beaches even though I really don't drink coffee and hate hippies... Anyway, there was a free open mic down at the Innerchange where Poltz, Jewel, Cindy Lee Berryhill, and a bunch of other hippie folkies used to pretend they were Bob Dylan or Joan Baez. It was there where I first encountered Gregory, the hippiest of them all, who was and still is the best pure singer-songwriter I've ever heard. We've been friends ever since... Even when he made out with Jewel in the back of the infamous van she used to sleep in during the "hard times," I forgave him. Even when he went electric, I stuck by him. And even when he filed a restraining order for stalking him until he played "Song For Martha" for me, I hung in there. Now the guy sends me 50 emails a day all over my jock, yo. With that said, I offer you gregorypage.com and to give you a taste of this guy's genius, here's an mp3 of my favorite song from my favorite album from last year. Don't tell him, he hates you music stealing f'ers.
Maybe I'll try to convince him to get himself up on myspace. He's kind of a recluse. |
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