Let Us Pray ...and Drink Coffee

I'm pretty damn excited about the show (Bike Church) I'm playing this weekend at Manifesto Bicycles for a few reasons. One good reason is that I used to work with one of the owners and am expecting to have an old work reunion of sorts. Also, you know I love playing with Winfred E. Eye. This may be the last show I play for a little while too.

It's not that I don't like playing live. In fact, I love it. But I've come to this realization lately that my friends can't come to the shows I play very often because we're adults with day jobs. It's hard to stay out late for me and for you. So, I'm going to shift my focus towards more daytime shows (like Bike Church!) and online video goodness. I'm still working on all the details but in the meantime, get your ass out to the East Bay and eat some brunch (Jon's Street Eats) while drinking half priced coffee from Sub Rosa, then go shopping at 1234 Go! Records.This shindig kicks off at 11:00 am.

Leaving The House With The Burner On

Yes, this is the latest from The Heated. Uh... it's a little dark. People like getting depressed, right?

Cheap Beer Taste Test

Earlier this year, Uptown Almanac (that's a local blog for people who think Mission Mission got too popular and sold out, man) ran a story about a cheap beer taste test. Clearly, the concept stuck with me and a few weeks ago, I held one of my own. The big winner? Tecate! The bowls on the table have salsa in them. You've got to have a palate cleanser, people.

     I doubt their party had these handy scoring sheets. Then again, I doubt their party had old nerds like me in attendance. Anyway, if you want a copy of the scoring sheet to hold a party of your own, hit me up. I really should edit them to have "meh" as the middle rating and "ewwww" as the lowest rating, which is what Foster's got from all of us. It's Australian for "skunky", mate.

Not El Rio, El Rincon

I'm having this stupid anxiety that because I've been playing at El Rio so much that people will get confused and go there this Friday when really I'm playing at El Rincon. El Rincon was recently shut down for a few nights when a cop got shot in the foot out front (after the club had closed, it is worth noting). So that probably means cheap drink specials? It's on 16th at Harrison. You'll recognize the sign from when you go to that weird little shopping center near Potrero. See?

Anyway, I'm opening (9:00 pm and you know I don't do tardy) and The Better Maker is playing too along with some Portlanders. Those Portlanders know a thing or two about what makes music lovely so get your ass out for what promises to be a somewhat terrifying evening. I'm kidding. No one will get shot. Someone might get shots. Probably not me.

Making. And Rocking.

The 3rd Annual Rock Make Festival is totally on this weekend. I will be there with my tea towels, ready to take the whole damn thing by storm. Hopefully not a literal storm. Anywho, my booth will be along 18th Street. There are going to be beer gardens and a ton of amazing bands. Here is an example of an amazing San Francisco band called Tartufi that also happens to organize the music aspect of this happening*. What they do is insane, both musically and organizationally. 

(*In San Francisco, we call them happenings. I'm kidding. Don't call it that.)

The Middle Of The Night

I played a show last week at the always lovely El Rio. The sound on this recording came out pretty good. The room was quiet. I think I had their attention. Chalk one up for Cristina. Check out how the mural's toe on the wall was about to go up my nose. If you'd like to hear another version, you can go here: http://theheated.bandcamp.com/track/vigilance

Ionosphere

I released a new song then forgot to put it on my blog again. Bad blogger, bad. Anyway, here's Ionosphere. The story behind this recording is that it was done in my sister-in-law's tiny camper while on vacation with a group of friends (luckily, my recording engineer was among them) along the coast of Northern California.