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joe escalante · joe escalante for judge · los angeles · Music · MW · News · the vandals ·

Joe Escalante of The Vandals for Los Angeles Judge of the Superior Court Office #3

Everyone has friends who are in bands. But who hangs out with judges? Next week, original O.C. punk Joe Escalante (The Vandals, and more recently the Sweet and Tender Hooligans) is on the ballot to serve on the bench as Judge of the Superior Court for the City of Los Angeles. He’s a smart and realistic guy—and good friend–who wants to do it for the right reasons. It all started with a legal advice radio show that stemmed from his working in entertainment law, representing his own record label as well as working for CBS. I’m voting for him and if you’ve ever been to a show at the Cuckoo’s Nest, Perkin’s Palace, or Fender’s Ballroom (or even visited Club 33) you might want to support him, too.

MW: Is judging something you’ve always wanted to do? What do you like about it?

JE: I applied to become a Temporary Judge in 2008 to broaden the amount of stuff I can cover on my radio shows. I usually only give “showbiz” legal advice on the radio, but I thought for job security I should brush up on the kind of stuff that more people need like small claims, traffic, and landlord-tenant stuff.

After doing it for a few years I’ve started to like it more than all the other stuff I do. I am able to use my brain, help people, and help the county, and I’ve met a lot of great people who are judges, prosecutors, clerks, translators, defense attorneys, bailiffs, etc. (Not my world until then) And I think I’m good at it.

You can have fun on stage or recording music, but are you really helping people? Maybe, maybe not. And is your brain valued? Or is it your looks? Can you grow old gracefully in a band? You certainly can on the bench.

Traffic Court is often joked about as a punishment for low-level judges. I love traffic court. We’re in Southern California and it’s a car culture in a big way. The rules of the road are on everyone’s mind every day. To be the final arbiter of a traffic dispute is a big honor. I love being involved in it. Everyone wants to make a difference. I think I can on the bench.

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japan · japanese · kids · mana ashida · Music ·

Ready for J Kid Pop?

This isn’t the most exciting thing in the world but the girl on the left is a huge star in Japan. Her name is Mana Ashida and as a child of 7 years, she’s a hit. If K Pop is going to reign with sexy girls, then why not combat it with a new genre of J Kid Pop? With an older demographic and aging population, this is odd and something that’ll be studied. “Most impressively, respected Japanese advertising agency Dentsu named Ashida the sixth best Japanese “product” of 2011—placing her in front of hybrid cars and emergency supplies.” (The Atlantic – Mana Ashida) [youtube]RWV_rx5PYD4[/youtube]
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goh nakamura · goh nakamurathon · Music · MW · News ·

Goh Nakamurathon – 40, 40, 41 hours to go

Anyone who’s read Giant Robot magazine, been to one of the shops, or visits the website knows that we’re big supporters of Goh Nakamura and his music. While his roots are in ’80s metal and his style is more like Elvis Costello or Elliott Smith, his worth ethic is as indie as you can get. He plays living rooms and theater lobbies, sits in on local jam nights and community gatherings. Most recently, he’s been featured in two independent features, Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings, which are making the film fest circuit.  The movies directed by David Boyle are very cool and I hope everyone supports them, but in the meantime Goh hasn’t been releasing enough of his own new music… Yes, the Music from the Motion Picture CD is a cool collection of tunes and scores from both flicks, but we fans are ready for a full-on album. The Dream Sessions, Goh’s latest Kickstarter effort, would remedy that. He’s trying to raise money to record sessions in three studios. Three cities, three different sets of musicians, same rad guitarist and singer. To help publicize the campaign, he’s been webcasting live sets featuring various friends playing music or just hanging out. Today, I was the visitor, and brought Eloise as long as well. You can watch the link here, in which she sings along to The Ramones and The Go-Go’s and dances around to The Beatles. How lucky are we? Coming up on Wednesday is Tamlyn Tomita, star of Karate Kid II and patron saint of Asian American cinema. I hear she used to skateboard in pools, so watch the webcast, jump in the chatroom, and request Agent Orange’s “Bloodstains” or some other skate rock! Then support Goh, a rad musician, good friend, and awesome guy.
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bone marrow · concert · help · jane lui · Janet Liang · Music · News · tamlyn tomita ·

Helping Janet Liang Benefit Concert

Janet Liang is now in Houston getting medical treatment. Hopefully the famous quote, “Houston, We have a Problem” will be nothing but a joke since Janet and her strong spirit has just arrived. Her Leukemia is at 82% of her body, she has a 30% chance of survival, and she intends to be in Texas for the next six months recovering. (janetliang blog)She’s a busy one and there’s a concert coming up in her honor and also to raise funds. It’s Helpingjanet.com Perfect 10 Concert that’s taking place in LA. The money goes to Janet’s medical bills and if you want to help her but are far away, there is a paypal link at the bottom of her home page at helpingjanet.com. It’s not a Kickstarter to make something later, this is a plea for here and now.     Ironically, today I opened up my mail from saturday and this was in my small pile of packages and junk. It’s from the National Marrow Donor Program. It turns out, I’m a preliminary match for someone out there. It’s probably not Janet, or is it? The chances are slim that I’ll actually be a match for anyone since that’s just how the odds work, but it’s timely that this comes in the mail. Is it a sign of anything? I hope so. If you look at the date, I joined in 1990. I saw a small mention of a donor drive happening near my house. A Japanese American man needed marrow. I had no idea who he was, but I decided to show up and give it a try. At the time, they drew blood and that was how it worked (Now it’s cheek swabs that you can do yourself). Having not donated blood, it was a little uneasy even if it was the quantity of a nosebleed. The folks there offered me a piece of cake and cookies and were amazed that I showed up without knowing the person. In 1991 I received a similar notice as below, and nothing happened after going in for a further blood test. Now 22 years later, here’s my second time around. I hope I can help.     That’s Janet, Jane Lui and Tamlyn Tomita at Giant Robot 2.
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