Let's go

Last night, my friend Doug and I went to the Radio Birdman show at the Wiltern. In some circles, the band is legendary. Its history goes back to the mid '70s when one of the MC5 took off for Australia. As a result, the crowd was populated by a lot of dudes in black T-shirts adorned with band names like Thee Hellacopters, The Heartbreakers, Turbonegro, and Dead Boys. You know--junkie rock.



If you've never been to the venue, located on Western and Wilshire, it's a massive Art Deco movie palace that was built in 1929. It was equipped with a state-of-the-art screen, huge pipe organ, and ornate fixtures everywhere.

These days, it's a fancy place to see bands play. When I was in college, I saw bands like Love & Rockets and Aztec Camera there. More recently, Mötörhead and Death Cab for Cutie. It's not bad for such a big place. There's a lot of street parking, you can't get more centrally located, and the sound ain't bad. Too bad tickets are so expensive.

The venue has changed ownership numerous times, and its current owner is LG. Seems weird, but it makes sense since that corner is now the heart of Koreatown. Incongruous to the fans dressed in tight black pants and Converse high-tops is an LG flatscreen display, as well as a very modern refrigerator unit.

Granted, along with Samsung, LG has helped South Korea's image and econmy, but they're kind of dicks when it comes to running the Wiltern. In particular, they have a ridiculous camera policy. Even if you have a photo pass, you can only shoot for three songs from a handicapped ramp before they escort you out to the lobby to check in your gear. Also, you can't even shoot bands in or around the premises because they want to protect its image. WTF? (We wanted to shoot in the alley anyway.)

Doug used his kick-ass gear to shoot some nice photos of the opening band The BellRays for our next issue, but I felt sorry for other zine photographers who wound up with blurry photos taken from afar. Those guys were bummed! After Radio Birdman played three songs, we decided that we'd rather split than check in his gear again.

Sorta lame, but what can you do? See you at the Wiltern when The Pogues come to town in a couple months...

Happy trails

A couple weeks ago, Angelyn and Carlos agreed to give me a ride to the garage to pick up my car with the condition that we'd have lunch first. No one rides for free--except for me, I guess, since they treated.


I was taken to a shack in Griffith Park called The Trails. It's an old snack shop that's been revamped to include vegetarian options or varieties of typical park food. The avocado sandwich has a generous helping of alfalfa sprouts, a thick slice of tomato, and soy baco-bits. In addition to the snakedog (like a corndog, but with croissant outer), there's a veggie dog assortment. The peanut butter and jelly looked black-and-blue good, but why get that when there are quiches, tomato tarts, meat pies, and vegan meat pies with amazingly flaky crusts? The summer soup, a cold tomato puree with just a little kick and some croutons on the side, is a perfect summer appetizer as well.

If you already had lunch, just getting pie and coffee isn't a bad idea. Last weekend, I wound up going there twice and tried the fresh peach pie as well as the fresh apple pie. Both matched the excellent crust with ample, tasty fruit.

It's a truly idyllic lunch to sit at the shaded picnic benches, and there always seems to be a breeze no matter how hot it is. Surrounded by the park and a near a path complete with bridges and tunnels, you don't even feel like you're in L.A. The spot seems popular with parents who let their kids play with trucks in the dirt while they do the NY Times crossword puzzle or check email. Yes, there is wireless, too.

Every time I've been to The Trails, it's never crowded. That probably won't last long.

The Donna

Last night I went to the Team Dresch show at Spaceland and saw Jenny Shimizu walk in. I thought, "Wow, cool! I want to say hi, but she probably doesn't remember me." A while later, someone taps me on the shoulder and it's her. Imagine that: a room full of women who love women, and she says hi to ME! I totally felt like a rock star (even though she basically wanted me to say hi to Eric).

But enough name dropping and back to the show. We arrived during Traeh--heart spelled backwards. The local group played a tough, hard-rocking set with plenty of melody, and you could tell they were stoked to be opening for legends. A great start.



The support was Longstocking. I used to see this band play Jabberjaw now and then, I have its K Records/IPU single, and this was a one-off reunion. The group opened with a bang and ending with a statement. Or a dozen. The rhythm section rocked out a hypnotic, extended instrumental intro while the singer and guest singer from the Sharp Ease pulled out Fruit-of-the-Loom T-shirts, wrote messages on them, and tossed them into the crowd. Abandon gender. Abandon fear. Abandon cars. It was pretty rad. They were way better than I remembered them to be.



The headliners were playing L.A. for the first time in 10 years, and they were amazing. Donna Dresch had freshly bleached hair and shredded so hard I thought she was Brian Baker for a second. My favorite songs have always been the ones where Kaia sings so Donna and Jody can concentrate on rocking out, and those were the best last night, too. (The more melodic, layered songs seemed to get lost in the mix...) Those who couldn't hang until the end missed out.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, go out and get Team Dresch's Personal Best.

Old and new 3

Tonight I'm going to a concert at the House of Blues that kind of fits this old and new thing I've been doing.



Headlining is Venom. I'm no Alex Trebek, but it's my impression that this Newcastle trio introduced the lowest-fi prouction and evil imagery way back in 1980, launching the genre known as black metal. They even have a song of the same title. After the three albums or so, even the hardest core fans had to admit they sucked. But the latest album is supposed to be good, and they hardly come to the States. The last time might have been in the '80s.



The opener is High on Fire, a comparitively new Oakland band that mixes an acute awaress of metal with a strong punk rock m.o. They get in the van, play bars, and work it. I'm pretty sure one of the members is in the Melvins!

Can't think of a better way to start the weekend...

The black and white

Not new but noteworthy. People can criticize China for killing dogs, censoring the Internet, and questionable urban planning. But no one can deny the country's mastery of panda handling!

Old and new 2

My blog will never be compared to freshness or coolhunting, but here's another pair of old shoes I dug up. These are Rawlings bowling shoes that I rescued from my parents' garage! Yes, my dad used to wear them way back when, and I wore them last night.

No crazy saddle-shoe action or 3-D colorways, but they are clean and they work. More importantly, I didn't have to shell out $3.50 for some stinky old shoes with batting-cages spray in them. My game? It's been a while, but I broke 100 in the warm-up game and 150 in the second one.



What's new? I picked up the latest Cometbus at the GR store yesterday. Yup, issue 50 is out!



Next to GR, Cometbus is the only publication I read from cover to cover. Aaron Cometbus is one of my literary and musical heroes, and I don't think you need to be a punk to appreciate his sporadic releases. The enjoyment doesn't come from knowing the punk bands he alludes to or being a squatter or train rider. It's from appreciating life in every detail, from cheap coffee at dawn to running into old friends to hearing the right song at the right time.

This particular issue is divided into three parts: interviews, fiction, and essays. The interviews include members of Bratmobile, Minor Threat, TV on the Radio, Low, the Casual Dots, and Jawbreaker. The essays cover NYC's bookstores. I haven't read the fiction yet, but I know it will break my heart. The parts are puncuated by letters.

Still 2 bucks and mostly handwritten after all these years. It's often said that more things change, the more they stay the same, and this is one of those cases. Like seeing an old friend.

If people read GR and get half as much enjoyment and inspiration as I do in Cometbus, I'll be happy.

For the kids

I first learned about Pancake Mountain when my friend Johnnie told me about the Evens' "Vowel Song" on youtube. Yes, it's Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina singing about the importance of vowels. And I thought Sesame Street was cool! More recently, the group had X play a matinee at the 9:30 club! Check it out here!



Bret, Happy, and little Kiyomi, this one is for you.

The old and the new and the old

Today I busted out some Vans that must be 14 or 15 years old. They have the classic waffle bottom, but the uppers are more padded than the ubiquitous boat/skate shoe and there are silver eyelets for the laces. Kind of rock 'n' roll, and it goes with my watch and ring. This pair happens to be vegan. My sister used to have a pair just like it, and if I recall correctly, she said they got funky after she wore them without socks due to the extra padding and lack of ventilation.

Like a lot of Vans I bought in late '80s and early to mid '90s, this pair was from the factory outlet on Batavia in the city of Orange. Imagine that, a factory in Orange County. It was cool because you could see the huge buildings for manufacturing as well as the tip of a skate ramp over a wall. I'd pick up tons of cheap, blemished shoes or ones with weird color combos that probably didn't make the cut. I still wear my red-white-and-blue old school skate shoes, red and white vegan ones, and classic blue high-tops now and then.



And just so you know I'm not one of those "back in the day" guys, here's something new... Because I'm too cheap to eat out and too lazy to pack sandwiches, I often have cereal for lunch. I figure it's got to be pretty healthy, especially when the side of the box has a list with 100 percents. Well, that would be Total or Smart Start. When those aren't on sale, I give myself leeway to buy something like Vanilla Almond Special K or Multi-grain Cheerios.

Today, I got some Oatmeal Crisp. This particular variety started out as Oatmeal Raisin Crisp, but has finally upgraded to include brown sugar and almond varieties. I chose the latter because I'm a big fan of anything with almonds. The cereal does not disapoint. There's a generous amount of nuts, and the flakes themselves are crunchy and not too sweet. I give it a solid A.

You might notice that there is a container of soy milk in the picture. I've heard a lot of soy milk bashing lately---especially when it comes to its usage in coffee--but I stand by it. I'm not hardcore vegan, but I'm convinced there's something weird about sucking fluid from a cow's nipple.

Which brings us back to Vans. Find this straight-edge classic from 411 and turn it up...

6116 Playlist

The other day I was talking to Mario, who's getting married next month. I suggested he blow off the entire wedding DJ thing and just make an iPod mix. Too late. He and his fiancée have already committed. Nonetheless, I told him I'd post what I programmed for Wendy and me, just in case he wanted to pick off some songs to suggest to their pro.

My mix was in three stages: Ramones - Reggae - Rock. To lubricate the transitions, there's the Godchildren of Soul version of "Rockaway Beach" (with vocals by Joey Ramone) and Wolfman's sweet-but-not-sappy "For Lovers" (featuring Pete Doherty of Libertines/Babyshambles infamy). Most of these songs are probably offered by iTunes or wherever you rip your sings, but I actually had all of these in my collection.

The Ramones - She's a Sensation
The Ramones - California Sun
The Ramones - I Want You Around
The Ramones - She's The One
The Godchildren of Soul - Rockaway Beach (On The Beach)
Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Tell Me Something Good
Byron Lee & The Dragonaires - Hold Me Tight
Hopeton Lewis - Take It Easy
The Maytals - Just Tell Me
Gregory Isaacs - I'll Be Around
Dennis Brown - Things in Life
Wolfman - For Lovers
Jets to Brazil - Cat Heaven
Ted Leo - Since U Been Gone/Maps
Superchunk - It's So Hard To Fall in Love
Superchunk - Brand New Love



Bonus tracks: These weren't on iPod, but played live for the ceremony by the Ray Barbee Band in lieu of a piano, harp, or whatnot. The songs were for the procession, bridal approach, and recessional in order.

Ray Barbee - Moment by Moment
Ray Barbee - A Word Aptly Spoken
Ray Barbee - Find Enjoyment



Pics by Doug from ricecracker.net

Paul Weller x Fred Perry

Months ago, I heard that the Modfather was going to make designs for Ben Sherman. He had signature shoes before, so why not? Then came this bombshell... The scoop is straight from the hangtag, Brit spelling, punctuation, and everything:



Paul Weller is a British cultural icon and working class hero. Described as 'the greatest British songwriter of his generation', both his music and individual style have had a major impact on youth culture for more than 30 years.

The shirt has been produced to celebrate the unique relationship between Paul Weller, Fred Perry and British street style. Created to Paul's exacting specification and his 'Modish' attention to detail.



This extends to the fabric knit - not used by the brand for 40 years - slimmer fit, slightly wider collar and original 60's garment and tipping colours.

With only 1,000 individually numbered shirts being produced worldwide - it represents a truly unique collector's piece.



The shirts were sold via an online lottery system, where Fred Perry Website members were invited to submit their emails. One thousand were chosen, and given a chance to log in an purchase the shirts. Not cheap, but a sharp addition to any wardrobe...

The edge

I missed the Post-It show at GR2 on Saturday night. Dang. But the reason why is that I bought tickets months ago to see Gorilla Biscuits. The list of bands that I want to see that I haven't seen is pretty short, and this New York straight-edge hardcore band was on it.

The show did not disappoint. After solid sets by NYHC legends Murphy's Law and new schoolers Comeback Kid, the original lineup of GB played just about everything ever recorded (including the covers) and was tack sharp. Yeah, they're looking a bit older. I don't know if they still have the straight edge--no smoking, drinking, eating meat, etc.--but stuff just happens after 15 years or so. (Unless you're Asian, I mean.) One of the members sold his bass and amps, so he had borrowed gear with Paul Frank stickers on it! Sorry, no pics due to camera-unfriendly conditions.

Johnnie and I stayed in the pit during GB's set, and had big bald dudes, skinny guys with mohawks, and assorted punkers flying all around us for its entirety. Mario was parched, too, just from standing in the sweatbox, so we needed to rehydrate afterwards. No Slurpees for us, though. We went to the old Shau May for Taiwanese slush. I was stoked that mango pudding is in the mix these days!

Sunday was recharging day. It was Wendy's brother's b-day, so we had dim sum and then met for dinner at this microbrew place on Sunset called Good. It was all right.


Here's the birthday guy with some super-bitter dark beer and his exceptionally nice girlfriend. She hooked me up with some peach-flavored Mentos from the 99-Cent Store across the street. 33 cents!


You might remember Wendy's uncle Steve from the Chinatown bus trip to Vegas article in GR. He got a king-sized margarita. "It's like lemonade, right?"


The fried chicken arrived in a decorated basket. Wow. I felt kind of ripped off when my curry-tofu thing just came in a bowl.

I don't drink alcohol, but I had beer-baked onion rings and this vegan stew with beer in it, too. Does that break the straight edge? I don't know, but between all that and the bugs, I feel like I'm slipping.

Whatever moral dilemma wasn't enough to prevent me from enjoying a professional quality cake baked by Wendy's cousin... Ahhh.

Ice baby

Last night was a comedy of errors. Missteps included me being late to pick up Wendy at her day job in West Hollyood, rush-hour traffic, mapquesting a miniature golf course in El Monte instead of a restaurant in Alhambra, and arriving at the restaurant just as our friends were leaving. Then, passing on joining them for golf to eat a relaxing meal after all that driving, we went a Malaysian restaurant that wound up being closed for remodeling and got to Vegetarian Wok just in time to scarf our meal as the employees started going home. Not exactly relaxing, and for the record their cashew chicken is mediocre. We picked the wrong night to try ordering different dishes...

Not one thing unfolded as we had hoped, but as we drove by Norm's on the way to Vegetarian Wok, Wendy said, "Let's have dessert there." After dinner, Wendy was depressed, full, and just wanted to go home, but in my opinion we had to have dessert--if nothing else, just so that we accomplished one thing that we set out to do.

Wendy thought it was too much, but I couldn't help but order a brownie sundae with four scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, and almonds for us to share. We also had two coffees, and they gave us an entire carafe!



As is often the case, Wendy was right. This is what we were left with:



We were defeated once more, but in this case it actually felt okay.

Bug eaters

So the other day we went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant at the Santa Monica Airport and there were bugs on the plate!



It was okay, though, because we had ordered crickets and ants as appetizers. (They also serve worms and another insect I can't remember.) The crickets weren't bad, fried and sprinkled in miniature fries. I thought the plump little jumpers were like pumpkin seeds--crispy chell and softer insides, all splintering in your mouth and sometimes getting stuck between your teeth.


No, I don't typically eat animals, but this was a special occasion. Also, I figure I swallow gnats when I go running and find ants in soup that's made from homegrown veggies, so it's not that big of a departure for my stomach. Also, it doesn't line the pockets of the agribusiness industry or sit at the top of the food chain, so its impact on people and the environment is minimal, too.

The last time I ate a bug on purpose was when we did the Korean canned silkworm snacks article for GR18. I had one in the name of journalism, and it was nasty. The funny thing was that even though Eric, Angelyn, and I gagged down the bugs, Eric's dog Hanako refused!



But back to dinner, everything was good, including Eric's birthday dessert. Everyone was stuffed, so I got extra helpings!

Golden girl

I'm not into posting girly pictures, but I couldn't resist putting up this one.



Today I picked up the trophy earned by the Giant Robot softball team. It's the fifth time we've come away from a season with hardware, and each time we've finished second.



The funny thing is that the plaques never say "second place" anywhere. If you saw the trophy, you'd assume we finished first! We get the golden dudes all the time, but check out the mitt. It looks likes something Charlie Brown would wear.



Who makes these things? I always pick ours up at a factory in an industrial part of North Hollywood. Many of the display pieces aren't for sports, but for corporate achievers, like people who meet sales quotas or work for the same company for 10 years.



If any of you GR players are reading this, come by the office and take the trophy for a day. You are entitled to do whatever you want with it, Stanley Cup-style.

Start yesterday

A couple months ago I bought tickets to see two hardcore bands from the late '80s. Dang, it's this weekend! Sucks because we also have the Post-It Show scheduled for Saturday at GR2, but the lineup is epic. What makes the tour especially fascinating is the juxtaposition of drunk rock and straight edge.



The opener is Murphy's Law, who I last saw opening for the Beastie Boys with Fishbone on the Licensed to Ill tour. Murphy's Law sings about drinking, getting high, and having fun. The band is not afraid to play metal or ska.


The headliner is the band I'm really stoked about seeing. It's Gorilla Biscuits, who released one of my favorite albums, Start Today (not shown here), in 1989. Their lyrics are full of vegetarian, straight-edge positivity. I could go on forever about the bands that guitarist Walter Schreifels went on to form (as well as Anthony Civarelli's CIV) but I won't.

There was probably a time when such a bill would end up in a huge brawling mess, but I'm guessing there will be a lot of people with straight edge tattoos drinking beers outside. It'll be interesting to see if the partying has taken its toll on Murphy's Law. Will they be worn down wrecks in comparison to Gorilla Biscuits? If they look the same and rock just as hard, maybe I'll take up meat and beer.

That reminds me of a joke told by Nick from Death Cab the other day: How many straight-edge guys does it take to drink a six pack? One, if no one's looking.

Aftermath

The Giant Robot softball season ended with a wet plop, but we had one more Monday night reserved at Barrington Field for practice. I thought it would be cool for people to invite friends and have a pick-up game.

So there I was at 8:20, watching the previous team pack up their stuff and leave the diamond. Minutes clicked to 8:30 and 8:40. It got pretty depressing sitting there on the cement, stretching out in cleats, and feeling more than a little lonely and pathetic while old frat guys walked onto the outfield to play bocce ball and a couple played catch with a football.

Eventually Michael showed up with a camcorder. We talked about how season unfolded, and that just underscored the finality of the season.

When he asked what the season meant, I had no idea what to say. So I freestyled. I said something about how we don't get paid, hooked up with gear, or covered by ESPN. We may or may not win. We do get to play with each other every week and have fun doing it. That's what playing with the team means to me.

I can see how people would get burnt out after a lengthy season and harsh ending. But damn. This was supposed to be just for fun.

Before I could shed a tear, some players started trickling ing. There were maybe half a dozen of us, just enough for everyone to get a decent workout and also enough to give me hope for next season.


Will play for fries.

Directions

Last night I saw Death Cab for Cutie at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. It was great for a number of reasons:

1. Death Cab is an incredible band, and it's cool to see them pack increasingly larger venues and add things like fancy lights and space-jam freakouts to their live show. The band totally deserves every iota of success that it is enjoying.

Yes, there were a lot of old dudes trying to prove their hipness to their young dates (or their kids) and frat guys giving high-fives when "Soul Meets Body" played, but there was also a girl waiting outside the main entrance more than an hour afterwards, hoping to give an oil painting of Ben Gibbard to the sweaty, hard-working singer himself.

2. I hadn't seen Mates of State or Spoon before, and both played great opening sets. Each of the three groups plays a different type of music, and they all complemented each other really well. It was practically like a curated show. I talked to our friend Nick, DCFC's bass player, and said that they'll probably be doomed with a crappy band next time. Nope. Looks like they're hooking up with Ted Leo + Pharmacists for their fall/winter tour.

3. Nick hooked us up with killer seats. He also gave us access to a VIP lounge where there was free snacks and drinks! I'm not sure who the VIPs were, but they seemed to include the promoter, venue people, their kids, industry folks, birthday parties, etc. I have to say that the plates of fruit, cheese, and crackers were replenished at an amazing rate. I wish I had a camera to shoot the VIPs fiending over the free food and drink. (Although Michelle is probably glad I didn't have a camera.)

***

Today we had lunch with Nick and our friend Anne, who was also in town. We met them at a hotel, and got to enjoy its lobby while we waited for them. Here's Eric, lounging like Giant Robot spy with Dianna in the other chair.



Dianna's been spending the summer at the GR compound, and is going out in a blaze of glory, hanging out with artists and musicians before moving up north to help out at GRSF. Is being an intern at GR sweet or what? (Not really!)

After we dicked around the GR shops on Sawtelle where Nick grabbed a copy of the new mag, he had to go back to the hotel to do an interview with the band. Death Cab plays one more show in L.A. tonight, then moves on to San Diego. Check them out if you can--they play different sets every night.

Anne had to leave, too. Work called, and we gave her a ride to LAX. We thought the airport would be crazy with all the security measures, but it was eerily empty. Did everyone cancel their travel plans or something?



By now you're probably wondering, "Why the heck is he putting up these regular friendster pics, and holding out on the concert and backstage photos?" I had my T4 with me last night because it's smaller than the digital camera. Also, when people from all over the place happen to be in one location, I know I'll want prints--something that just doesn't happen when I shoot digitally.

Mayo clinic

A couple days ago, Eric put up a blog about Johnnie's Pastrami. To people in West L.A., that place is a legend, and so is Tito's Taco's right around the corner. Problem is, there's not much for vegetarians to eat there. Onion rings and a shake are tasty, but a diet of that will eventually do you in.


A zillion dishes, but just two people behind the counter.

I prefer Cinco de Mayo, which is on the corner of Sepulveda and Washington, right in between the two establishments. Not only does it have a menu that hits the triple digits (including stuff I'll eat) and hours that literally don't end, there are cool murals inside.


This one shows some people being shipwrecked in stormy water. The message? You never know what's going to happen. This meal may be your last, so go for it.


John Wayne might have answered the front door wearing a dress, but he approves of the food at Cinco de Mayo. The couple? I'll let you know when I see it completed.

There is also some nice art outside, beautifully lit by neon and flourescent. The other night there was a homeless guy hanging out there, so I decided to let him be.

And the food? It's pretty good. I had a tasty veggie burrito. Wendy (not vegetarian) had a fish burrito, saved half for lunch the next day, and said it was good and filling. This ran us less than nine bucks including a small tip.

In the end, it's good to a have a dependable 24-hour spot like this, especially by the airport since you never know when you're picking up a hungry friend.

Can you picture this

There's been a lot of talk about wanting new digital cameras in the office. It seems like every week, a new make or model is brought up, we look it up online, and drool over it. In the end, we wait. There's always a newer, better one on the way.

Out of the blue, Eric mentioned, "Your camera is perfect for blog pictures." All this jonesing for something small, fancy, and cool had indeed blinded me to the fact that I have a perfectly good beater that I can take around and not worry about. My mom and dad gave it to me a couple Christmases ago, and it uses rechargable AA batteries.

So I started carrying it around, and what do you know? Walking from the bus stop to the GR office, I saw a tree fallen through someone's roof!


In high school, there was a guy named Tim Burke. We'd always say, "Timbuuurrrrrk."

Damn. And I was bummed out about my car accident. Whoever lives in that house is dealing with something way worse.

On one hand, I was glad I had a camera. How often do you see stuff like that? But on the other hand, I felt like a scumbag, picking off someone's misfortune and taking it as something to write about.

Here's something more positive. Say hi to our intern, Janet.


Janet would double down if GR were a category in Jeopardy!

We get tons and tons of requests from students who want to help out at GR. That's awesome, but because our workdays are so free-flowing, unpredictable, and non-officelike it's hard for us to use their help. We never know when we need extra labor, and when we do, it's usually easier to do it ourselves.

Janet's relentless emails, phone calls, and chipper energy did us in. She kept calling until we needed help, and then she came in pretty often during GR43's crunchtime. Even better, she called after the mag went to press to see what else there was to do! No one does that.

We don't pay Janet and the office is currently a sty. But for some reason, she is into helping GR and who are we to deny her?

If you're reading this, thanks Janet! Come in next week because we'll need help with button sets and subscription mailers!

One, done

Last night marked the end of an era for Giant Robot softball.

The combination of players from the broken-up B team and up-and-coming C team began spring-summer 2006 with high hopes. Experience, power, confidence, and friendship--it was a real dream team. We ripped off five wins to start the season and only lost twice more in the 12-game season. The final two wins were convincing--albeit versus lesser teams--and suggested that we were entering the tournament with momentum.

Not so. Last night, we fell behind by 5 in the first inning before coming back strong by doubling their runs in the third. Blows were traded, but in the end Giant Robot fell short by two runs.

I'm not going to bore you with details like walks, grounders, and donuts, but everyone was heavily depressed after the game. Heads were down, shoes were thrown, and I'm sure trash cans were brutalized.

What hurts most for me is not how the season ended (it was an exciting game), but that it had to end at all. Guys on the team are having surgery, starting families, and going away to school, and those are all things to be grateful for. But it just won't be the same.

Infernal remake

Remember Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lau's incredible gangster trilogy with Andy Lau and Tony Leung?



Here's a link that will get you to a trailer for Martin Scorcese's all-star remake, renamed The Departed. Some of the shots (not this one) are directly lifted from the original.

Redd alert

In case you missed them at REDCAT, the re-formed Redd Kross have three dates coming up!

Aug 26: Sunset Junction, Los Angeles, CA

Sep 1: Azkena Festival, Vitoria, ESP

Sept 22: Irving Plaza, New York City, NY

Where the heck is Vitoria?

Quest for fire

"Where do you get ideas for articles?" That question always comes up whenever we're interviewed by a newspaper or do a college talk. It's not quite as effortless now that we're bimonthly, but the subjects are still flowing and there's still tons to cover.

For example, I've become obsessed with this dark metal band from Japan. (You'll see who it is in two months.) It was pretty easy to track down the lead singer's email address, and it turns out he speaks English really well. So far, so good.

The problem is that it's difficult to scratch beyond what's posted on myspace because the group's CDs are either import or out of print. (Not on iTunes or Napster, either, although it's probably on Soulseek or some site from Russia. I need the packaging, anyway.) The group does have a U.S. distributor slated to release its next album in 2007, but that doesn't help me now. As a result, I'm bumping around the Web and dropping little bits of money at weird places that sell underground metal.

This is how it often is. Because (1) what the PR people feed is rarely good and (2) it's too late when stories are easily accessible, we have to scrounge around for DVDs, CDs, and other fodder.

It would be easy to write about filmmakers or bands without watching their movies or listening to their music--especially for a two-page shorty--but GR readers have finely tuned bullshit detectors. More importantly, I actually enjoy seeking out my obsessions. And you should see my ridiculous collection of Asian cinema and Chinese-Jamaican reggae...

On the bus

While my car's been in the shop, I've been carpooling with Wendy. Today I drove her to West Hollywood, parked, then took the bus to GR.

This morning's bus ride was uneventful and hardly worth describing. One crazy guy was smelling real bad and talking to himself with almost equal volume, but mostly it was people with headphones or paperback books. I always wondered who buys all those Stephen King novels. Now I know. One guy was wearing an old GR shirt with the Brian Ralph monkey design!

Sitting on the bus reminded me of living in the dorms at UCLA. My friend Rick and I took the bus from campus to the Palladium to see the Beastie Boys on the Licenced to Ill tourwith Murphy's Law and Fishbone. My friend Peter and I took the bus to the Whisky to see a fundraiser with Guns 'n' Roses and had to walk back because the show ended after midnight. It was all right; we felt totally safe because cops kept shining flashlights on us to make sure we were okay.

Like Claudine said in her blog a couple weeks ago, the bus isn't bad at all. But I'll gladly accept a ride back home after softball practice tonight.

My car? I get it back in a day or two, although this carpool thing is working out all right. We'll probably keep doing it at least a couple days a week. No hybrid or vegetable-oil car in our port, but this will do.

Chicago Rock City

What's up with Chicago? They just hosted the Pitchfork music fest and Lollapolooza is this weekend...

Just secured travel and tickets to attend Touch & Go Record's 25th anniversary celebration. I've been waffling for a long time about this since we have a mag deadline the week before, but got assurance from ad man Kiyoshi that we're going to pull it off so I went for it.

In case you live in a hole, the lineup is amazing, balancing older bands like Scratch Acid, Negative Approach, and Big Black with newer ones like Ted Leo, Black Heart Procession, and Pinback. Somewere in between are Three Mile Pilot, Girls Against Boys, and our pals in Seam.

What? No Meatmen?


Nonetheless, three days and a boatload of bands for 35 bucks isn't bad at all, especially when you've got good friends to crash with. I've never attended a multi-day thingy like this before. Never made it to Yo-Yo-a-Go-Go or even Coachella. I only went to one day of the US Festival.

Showtimes don't start until 4:00, so maybe we'll even see some sights... It would be a shame to spend that many days in Chicago in front of a stage.

Dead or Alive

On a rare week between magazine deadlines and softball games, I accompanied Wendy to an open gym in Torrance where she and some friends play volleyball. She plays in a weekly league, and I'm a true novice.

Having routine balls bounce off my forearms and out of play, setting like crap, serving into the net, hitting soft little lobs, and being in the wrong part of the court and watching the ball land right next to me--I'm always the crappiest player whenever I show up.

Luckily, the folks who play there are pretty nice. They tell me where to stand and say "good job" even if I block someone's ball out the door. I'm glad I wasn't on Wendy's team; then there's extra pressure not to blow it.

Tuesday night started off with an easy win for my side, followed by us getting blown out twice. We came back to win the tying game and held on to win the rubber match. Somehow, the side I was one overcame my lack of skill, I actually didn't hurt myself, and I even got the winning hit.

But I won't fool myself into thinking I'm good. I'm actually okay with being crummy. The last time I felt totally defeated by something was when the GR softball team started, and eventually I got decent. And then there's skateboarding, where I accept my place as an eternal grommet.

Sometimes it's nice to be at the bottom, figure things out, and get better. It's humbling and it's not easy, but it's also fun and rewarding. How often do we put ourselves in positions like that?

Chances are that I'll play for another week or two, then mag deadlines will return, putting whatever miniscule progress I make to a halt. I anticipate being crummy (and enjoying it) for a while.

Minus the scenery and bikinis, I saw a lot of this on Tuesday night.

Joe #1

When I drive to GR in the morning, I like to listen to Joe Escalante's radio show on Indie 103.1 (except for commercial breaks, when I switch to NPR). I think Joe is great. I interviewed him way back in GR21, and he's one of the kindest, smartest, and funniest guys I've ever met. I remember he told me that he got into bullfighting because there isn't tons of cool Mexican stuff like there is Asian stuff in Giant Robot. That's the type of self-deprecating, nice dude he is--unless you're a bull, of course. He and his wife Sandra have even attended art shows at GR2!

Joe's personality totally shows in his morning gig. Unlike most drive-time DJs who are out-of-control obnoxious and try way too hard to make you laugh, his humor is understated. Somehow the topic of Lindsay Lohan being dropped from her label came up, and he deadpanned that he had "two words for her": Kung Fu Records. Funny because that's his label and also because it's three words.

A better example: When the news lady brought up a story about a Chinese Web site being censored and then tied in the slaughter of thousands of dogs, the program's engineer played some ridiculous gong sounds. Joe pointed out that the sound effects were indeed racist and then actually stated that the animals weren't being eaten--as was suggested by another show contributor. I'm not saying that news from Asia isn't fucked up or funny, but let's not forget that buffalo get shot down on Catalina Island every few years and the Bush administration does have a pretty good grip on news about the war... I appreciate that he rejects the easy, stupid laughs but doesn't need to make a big deal about people being dumb, either.

Blah blah blah. I also like waking up to the Buzzcocks, Jawbreaker, and Bad Religion.

Joe and Warren 4-eva

Emotional rescue

"Oh, Asian culture? I guess there's nothing in there for me."

That's what someone told me at the high-school reunion when I told him what I was doing these days. For the record, he's a nice guy, about as non-Asian (white as marshmallows) as you can get, and maybe he's even right. In the end, Giant Robot magazine is just paper and staples just like you and I are blood, guts, and bones.

Our magazine--and everything that goes into it--means squat unless you subscribe to the idea that it covers topics that matter, pushes culture (better yet), or has soul (the ultimate compliment). I've been working on the mag with other believers for so long that I just take these things for granted.

Last week, I went to GR's Socal newsstand distributor and picked up orphaned bricks of issues 40, 41, and 42. It's depressing that they weren't bought off the stands, but at least our sell-through rate is ridiculously high and we are able to give the leftovers new life at the GR store. Usually, returns are simply destroyed. At the plant, I saw massive bricks of shredded and baled magazines. Most of the mangled titles showed celebrities, cars, or smut.

Is there anything in those pages for me? I don't know, but if the guys that work at the plant learn just one thing from each of the mags in that bale, they would be the smartest guys on the planet. I asked one of the dudes if he reads everything that comes through, and he said, "When the boss isn't looking..."

Is it lack of time, no interest, or the pressure of the boss keeping us from soaking in all the knowledge, art, and culture that's out there? It's probably a little of each.