Unless, like me, you’re in Portland, where it has been pissing down rain for the last eleventy-jillion months. Fortunately, there is a cure, and it is called Las Vegas. We are heading down there for a little rest, relaxation and ruckus this weekend. Oh sure, you say, r&r from what? Well, let me tell you, traveling up and down the West Coast for music festivals really takes it out of a person!

On a whim, I decided I needed a little soundtrack to get my head in the right space for it. Not my normal mixtape stuff but it’s already making me think about our private cabana at the pool…

Searching – WebQueawry
Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) – Two Door Cinema Club
Lay The Manekin (Boogie Corp vs DMX Krew) – Stas Twee
Baby Can’t Stop (Edit) – Lindstrom and Christabelle
Foolin’ Around (Hypnolove Remix) – Showgirls
Cooler Rock n’ Roll (Joan Jett vs Crookers ft. Yelle + Junkie XL) – DJ Schmolli
Can’t Shake This Feeling – Grum
Work This City (Sammy Bananas Remix) – Body Language
Wanna B Ur Lover (White Girl’s Lust Solid Bump Beat) – Prince
We Are Your Tasty Friend (Simian vs Missy Elliot vs Dada Life) – RoM1RoM
Fake Disco Flex (Dizee Rascal vs Fake Blood vs Arabesque) – KrazyBen
Bad Girls (SonicC Bootleg) – Donna Summer
The Way You Make Me Feel (Plasir de France re-edit) – Galaxy Birthday
Summer – Atypicals

(download it here)

(and all my other mixtapes can be found here)

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The core Portland crew made it out to Eastern Washington: Jamie, Shelly, and Colin. We were also joined by our Norwegian friend Arjo, who was able to combine a work trip here with the show.

On Friday, we picked up the RV. Arjo’s flight was delayed so Shelly, Colin, and I headed out on the road. Got a chance to stop at the Double Mountain Tap House in The Dalles and filled up a few growlers for the trip. Between traffic and our RV travel speed, we were able to take a quick beer break in Yakima and meet up with Arjo.

All we had was an hour or so ahead of us and we would be there. Well.. an hour or so of drive time and close to 3.5 hours in the entrance line. First benefit of the RV realized: our own mobile bathroom! Finally, we made our way into Premier Camping, nabbed a great spot near the shower trucks, and started making friends with the neighbors. Now I could be wrong, but I think we were surrounded by Canadians. Well, them, and the crew from a Boise alternative music radio station. All in all though, nice friendly people that we hung out with for most of the weekend.

On Saturday, we spent the morning getting tickets for Arjo, then headed in. In standard festival fashion, we bounced around a lot, but managed to listen to OK Go, Broken Social Scene, The National, Vampire Weekend, and Z-Trip. Listened to Deadmau5 from the comfort of our camp.

Sunday we hopped in Arjo’s car and headed out to Ellensburg for supplies and a couple of hours at the river. Too cold to go swimming but nice to relax and toss the frisbee around. As the afternoon wrapped up, Jamie showed up from Seattle. Using our secret hacker skills (sharpie and parking pass stub) we got both her and Arjo’s cars into our campsite. Sunday’s bands included They Might Be Giants (from campsite), Tegan and Sara, The xx, LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, A-Trak, Public Enemy, Massive Attack, and Booka Shade.

Monday, as usually the case during these long weekend parties, was spent complaining about our hangovers, and postponing getting ready for the show. Arjo had to be back in town bright and early Tuesday, so headed back to Portland. The girls weren’t ready to head in, so Colin and I went and caught Passion Pit, She & Him, and No Age. By that time, we were tuckered out, and headed back to camp. The girls stayed to see Boys Noize.

The “quiet time” gave me a second wind, so later that night Colin, Shelly, and I headed into the wild apocalypse of General Camping, bouncing from sound system to sound system into the night.

And that was it. Tuesday morning rolled around and we said our goodbyes. By the time we emptied the RV, returned it, and got home. It was nearly 6pm. Time for an early bed, right?

So…. The Buzzcocks played in Portland last night. Despite being drained from the weekend, there was no way I was going to miss seeing them. Seriously, they are in my top 5 of all times – the kind of band that basically shaped the music I like. So, hoping for a miracle burst of energy, I headed out to Berbati’s at 8:15. Of course, The Buzzcocks weren’t scheduled to play until 10 or so. Doh! Bracing myself at the bar with some red bulls, I waited.

And I am so glad I did. Managed to poke my way up front right near the stage and proceed to dance, sweat, and wear the biggest smile on my face as they ran through their set. So many random associations from times past flew through my mind. Hearing some of the songs that have been my “theme song” at points in my life live was incredible.They even looked like they were enjoying themselves – something a lot of “reunion bands” don’t necessarily do.

And with that I called it a night. Still can’t believe I was vertical today at work, but am definitely sleeping early tonight.

Hmmmm… now about that Killing Joke show tomorrow…

(Flickr set of Sasquatch pictures here)

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Way back in January, my friends Jamie and Shelly and I decided we wanted to get a big rental house for this year’s festival. Criteria: a lot of bedrooms, pool, and a hot tub. With all the properties available you would think it would be easy to secure this, but we actually had to scramble. Fortunately, the place we ended up getting was awesome. Because it was in Palm Springs, and not closer in like Indio or La Quinta, we arranged for a driver to shuttle us back and forth each day. (Note: This was one of the best moves ever. No worries about parking or being too drunk/tired to drive).

Joining us after a few shuffles and cancellations were my friends Colin from PDX, Josh from SEA, and Switch, Suga, Kirby and Audra from OAK.

By some luck of the reservation system, those of us from the PacNW all ended up on the same Portland to Palm Springs flight and arrived late afternoon on Thursday. After a quick test run of the pool and hot tub, we walked to the store, stole a shopping cart, and brought home supplies.

The Oakland crew drove down and got into town around 2am.

Day 1 of the Festival

Our driver showed up about 1pm and brought us to the Polo Fields where we were greeted by the biggest clusterfuck Goldenvoice has ever created.

This year there were no single day passes available and the 3-day passes were sold out. We waited in one line for about 45 minutes, had our bags searched, then were released into a holding pen, where Security was exchanging tickets for wristbands. No lines, just mobs of hot, sweaty, and excited people swarming around the wristbands. The Security were constantly running out of the wristbands, which forced them to wade through the crowds to pick up more.

After 30 minutes or so of this, we then had to walk a half mile or so where we were greeted by another set of lines to have our bags checked again and our bands verified.

We had planned to be at the festival at 2:30 and barely made it in time for a 4:00 set.

Shaking off the bad vibes of the entry, I (and a rotating cast of my housemates) managed to see:

Proxy – Jamie was set on seeing this, so we headed straight back to the Sahara tent. Was really good and the perfect way to get into the festival mindset.

Aeroplane – Wow! Very unexpected. I had heard a little bit before but am now a fan.

She & Him – Didn’t stay long. I am a fan of the band, but the crowd was huge, and they sounded like the record, so moved on fairly quickly.

The Specials – DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER. I had so much fun reliving my Dance Craze days. While they all looked older, the music and stage presence were spot on.

Wolfgang Gartner – Caught the tail end of this. Enjoyed what I heard.

Pretty Lights – Another hit!

La Roux – Caught a few minutes between sets. The tent was packed, so we moved on.

LCD Soundsystem – I am a huge LCD fan. Have seen them many times. After listening to the new album, I was completely psyched to see them again. Unfortunately, I thought the show was just OK. No real reason why – just didn’t hit like I thought it would.

Benny Benassi – We kicked it in the grass behind the Sahara tent and regrouped with people.

Fever Ray – Probably the best set of the weekend. The stage show was creepy and awesome, the sound was loud but not overpowering, and the music was… beautiful.

Deadmau5 – To close out the night, we crashed the Deadmau5 tent, forced our way into the crowd and had our own dance party. Amazing way to end the night.

And then it was back to the house for a late night dip in the pool.

Day 2 of the Festival

For me, this was the “weak” day of the show. The one band I was truly looking forward to, Bad Lieutenant, were stuck in the UK due to volcanic ash. We mostly hung out around the Sahara tent, with occasional forays out to poke our noses into the other sets. Plus, after a couple of late nights partying, the day was a bit of a blur. I can safely say we saw Craze & Klever, Dirty South, The Raveonettes, Bassnectar, David Guetta, and Les Claypool.

We ended up calling an audible, and bailed out of the show early.

Day 3 of the Festival

Another late night, but that didn’t stop us from rolling out and raring to go.

Rusko – Hadn’t heard much before, but became a fan.

The Glitch Mob – Whoo hoo! Another one of my faves. Was a bit disappointed by the set. They seem to be turning into “musicians” who play “songs” instead of “DJs” who play “sets”. Still enjoyable though.

Florence and The Machine – Played to a pack tent. I really like this band, but I think I like them better in my headphones than at a festival.

Club 75 – Jamie, Shelly, Colin and I were camped out on the side of the Sahara and probably danced non-stop for an hour and a half.  We must have been acting pretty wild, because we attracted a whole bunch of fun people who joined up with us.

Got split up by capacity beer tents and long bathroom lines at this point. Shelly and I bounced around listening to bits and pieces of Spoon, Phoenix, and Infected Mushroom.

Orbital – Another blast from the past. (Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan!)

The girls and I decided we wanted to head over to the main stage and stake out our ground. Got sidetracked by some food and drinks and a trip to the Heineken Headphone Rave dome. Had a good time dancing around with wireless headphones on.

Gorillaz – ZOMG! I had been expecting a show that incorporated their “hologram” characters and was wondering how they were going to pull it off with the wind that kicks up at night. When Admiral Snoop Dogg came up on the main screen and kicked off the set, I knew we were in for something different. Damon Albarn and crew played live with an insane multimedia show behind them. Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the DVD for Plastic Beach.

And with that we bid farewell to the festival. Our friends from Oakland were scheduled to leave the next day, so we made sure to get our fill of the pool and hot tub that night.

Monday was spent decompressing and recuperating. At noon, we said our goodbyes to the Oakland crew. At dusk we headed out to the Aerial Tramway to see the city lights from the snow covered lodge. A nice steakhouse dinner and brief stroll down the main Palm Springs drag ended the night.

Tuesday, we packed up and bolted for the airport.

Every time I go to Coachella, I say it was the best year ever, and this year I am going to say it again. An awesome rental house, great weather, and the best group of people to hang with that I could ask for. It was a grand slam home run! Thanks to everyone who was there for a great week.

A Flickr set of house pics are here. Kirby borrowed my SD card during the festival so his camera has most of the concert pics.

(and a nod to the memes of the week: “music goes in my earhole”, “shots shots shots shots shots shots”, and “fucking iceland”)

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In a fit of nostalgia, I listened to the album recently. Surprisingly, or not, it still seems fairly fun. We were always careful to try and not fall into stereotypical genre patterns — things that tend to sound dated as music and tastes change.

So, for a short time, I am going to make the album and some extra material available for download here (link at the bottom). Sure, it might cannibalize all those iTunes sales we have (hah!) but what the hell.

Disclaimer: If Dee starts flinging poo at me for doing this, I’ll take it down and replace it with incriminating pictures I have of him.

These were the original “headshots” I drew for our press kit (oh such hubris!) We came up with the idea for a “virtual band” with a crafted backstory when we first started working together in the early 90′s. I choose to believe that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett based The Gorillaz on our groundbreaking efforts. I choose to believe a lot of things that are probably not true. Anyways, the backstory is lost to the ravages of time and excess, but I do recall it had something to do with time travel back from an apocalyptic future… one that we may have had a hand in creating. (Then again that sounds a lot like the backstory we had for our industrial band Meinschlagen).

The album itself had a couple of different covers. Here they progress from earlier to later as they go left to right. It also had a  few different track orders. What I’ve listed here is what I consider the “correct” one.

Jack In, Log On, Nod Out

Ready To Begin / Patterns

After putting the SimStim project away for a couple of years, this is the song that got it rolling again. After seeing the movie Π (Pi), we knew we had to create a song based on samples from it. The opening sequence is from the original Rollerball movie.

(Love Is The Law) Love Under Will

Oh, our crazy flirtations with Uncle Al and his wacky band of sorcerers. The title is obviously a Crowley quote. And that is definitely not a Dead Can Dance sample. Nope no way. Not a chance. We’re not fools like FSOL were…

The Eternal Question

How many times in your life can you get Ice Cube to name check you in a song? As many times as you can splice them in with an audio editing program, that’s how many!

Ghosts & Empties

A long with the name of the band, here is another nod to the man who created our future, or at least a dark dystopian view of it. To this day, William Gibson still ranks as one of the major influences on my ideas towards the uses (and abuses) of technology.

No Dancing

The vocals for this were rescued from a cassette tape recording of a performance Dee gave with his high school punk band. Add in some organs, a funky bass, and some sloppy rhythms and mix to taste.

Swamp Thing

The Chameleons, duh! It’s funny. I can remember we were always throwing out ideas about how “this or that “song would be great to cover. Must have had thousands of ideas. We ended up only doing this one.

Truly Bitchen’

We have “Chinanski” to thank for this one. James was a guy we hung out with back in the day. James had, let’s say, eclectic interests. One day he showed up with a cassette tape that we had “just had to listen to”. It turned out to be a recording some kids made while talking to an overnight security guard at Knott’s Berry Farm over Ham radio or walkie talkies. His unique vision of the future became the vocals for the song.

Street Trash

This one is very simple. It was written with specific imagery in mind. Stephen King’s The Gunslinger. Following the Man in Black across the desert and through the town of Tull.

Orgiastic

Dee worked audio miracles to extract that Germs sample from the rest of the song.

Parsifal

The vocal samples for this were taken from Truffaut’s film version of Fahrenheit 451.

Jack In, Log On, Nod Out – Bonus Track

Before we put the SimStim project to bed, we put out one last single, Pass The Plate.

SimStim – Ultra Rare Trax

The following tracks were never formally released. They were early works in progress. Some got rearranged in to new tracks. Others were just left as-is.

Desdemona

T.W.E.A.K. (Therapeutic Waveforms Evoking Ambient Kaos)

Zaibatsu

The Sinful Adventures of Bhagwan Dass

Razorblade

It’s been fun going through these tracks, thinking about the shows we played in lofts, clubs, parks, and farms. And yes, if you hear a story about a band that wore steaks instead of clothes, that was us at The Temple of Sound. Fortunately, no pics have surfaced to date.

A convenient zip archive of all the audio can be downloaded here for now.

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At the designated time, I read off the directions and handed out the frozen berries. I felt like I was performing Communion. Basically, you bite into the fruit, avoiding the rather large seed, and swirl the pulp around in your mouth for a couple of minutes. The fruit was fairly bland itself.

After that we hit the food. The list of things we had included citrus fruits, brussels sprouts, stout and bitter beer, tequila, Sourpatch Kids candy, Sriracha (hot cock sauce), vinegars, mustard, and cheeses.

We also threw in some things that were just odd to see what if any effect the berries would have, things like fish oil, unsweetened chocolate, and anchovies.

I, of course, had to start it off with the anchovies. Wrapped around an olive. Two things that I detest. Yep – they were still awful. Next I went for a wedge of grapefruit. And pow! It was like the nectar of the gods. So good. Everyone seemed to have their own particular favorite – except poor Cara. The berries had no effect on her.

The Bridgeport Blackstrap Stout was like an adult milk chocolate and the Redhook ESB had a sweet finish instead of the normal hoppy bite. Although others claimed cheap tequila would go down like a mellow wine, most everyone agreed that it was still kinda ass.

I used the Sourpatch Kids as early warning system. At the beginning of the night, they were simply sweet gummis, but as time went on, they gradually become more and more puckery. After consuming mass quantities, we kept the party going and headed out for more drinks and music.

Thanks to all who came, especially those who traveled from Seattle and Norway. It was a blast.

(more pics at Flickr)

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Sparklemotion is back in action and its like we never left the game.

Jen, Joe, Colin, and I got the trivia team back together to play at The Hutch tonight. With 5 competitors, all regular teams, we hoped for merely a respectable showing. After all, its been a few months since we’ve played.

Fear not… Sparklemotion destroyed the competition. And the prize was so much bigger. $100 towards our bar tab (with the leftover being put on a gift certificate). Its too bad that I am currently on the wagon.

All in all it was a good time. We’ll have to see if this becomes a regular event like our old Monday nights.

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We found out just a day or two before the trip that the Kaiju show was cancelled, but we wiped the tears from our eyes and mustered the strength to carry on. (Side Note: Ticketbastard was quick to refund ticket cost, but still snaked $6 in charges. They should just set up phony shows, cancel them and keep the fees.)

After meeting up with my cohorts from Seattle, and what seemed like an interminable wait for the Airport bus, we found ourselves at Union Station in downtown. The fun began immediately when we saw a vampire snuffling around in a grassy area. We think he was scared off by our numbers.

After checking into our hotel, we walked across the street and got the party started in a tiny Japanese dive/karaoke bar. The waitstaff barely spoke English, the grizzled Yakuza veterans at the bar were singing in Japanese, and we were guzzling down cheap stiff drinks.

After warming up, we headed next door to Daikokuya, probably one of the best ramen shops in Los Angeles. While the rest of the gang got the signature Daikoku Ramen, with extra back fat, I went for the Tuna Sashimi and Sushi rice. Om nom nom.

After the food coma subsided we headed over to Bar 107, where our friend would be DJing the next night. Drinking then sleeping commenced.

The next morning, we shuffled around Little Tokyo slightly hungover and marvelling at the signage. Our hostess, Betsy, graciously offered to drive us into Hollywood for an In N Out and BevMo run. 7 of us, one Pontiac Vibe, and boxes of purchases from BevMo? No Problem.

After nappy time, we headed over to another L.A. staple, El Pollo Loco. We washed that down with $1.00 Kobe Beef Tacos at a happy hour down the street. Then it was back over to Bar 107 to hear The Eye of The Bronado, DJs Buttafuoco (our friend Bryan) and Zack Morris, lay down some party music. I think there were Herradura Añejo shots somewhere in there.

While the rest of the crew ate taco truck tacos early in to the morning, I raised the white flag, and headed off to sleep.

Morning found us eating some great Mexican food, laying around a rooftop pool, and drinking Tecates. Unfortunately, we had flights to catch, so back off to LAX we headed.

All in all, a great trip. Some old friends I hadnt seen in years, met my good friend Mookie’s awesome new girlfriend, and generally let off some steam.

A+++ seller. Would buy from again!

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First up, Spiced Cider Vodka. The good folks over at Infusions of Grandeur have already done the hard work on this one. It will definitely be my most involved creation, using 5 different flavors (apple, orange, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg), all added at set times. I followed their recipes before, so I am sure it will all work out.

The other one…. well, here’s where we might guinea pig a few iterations. Reading this blog entry, inspired me to make Pumpkin Pie Vodka. Not just pumpkin, but pumpkin pie, with all the spices. The ratios given are far from exact, so I think I will start with a whole can, and back down from there on future batches if necessary. If anything this should be easy. Besides, my friends are all drunks, so even the bad batches usually get consumed. (OTOH, the Habañero vodka is slowly eating through the bottle on the top shelf)

Hopefully I can fine tune these and have some good gifts for this season’s holiday parties.

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What is Kaiju Big Battel, you ask?

Kaiju Big Battel is a modern conflict of epic proportions. Scattered throughout the galaxy is a monstrous mob of Kaiju – maniacal villains, ominous alien beasts, and gigantic, city-crushing monsters who are fighting for control of the globe, their volatile tempers periodically detonating into bouts of intergalactic sparring and senseless acts of violence.

Basically, its GWAR, if they were Japanese, atomic, and didnt play instruments.
(for more info check out this or for the vanilla wiki version, look here)

Heading down to Los Angeles Thursday November 20th through Saturday the 22nd with some SpiceAliens to check out the carnage at the Mayan Theater.

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