Last Friday night was a special night for the select bunch of drunks at Old Curtis Street in Denver. It marked the reunion of The Blackout Pact, after breaking up more than 2 years ago. The line-up that night was Scooter James, Anchor Down, Esprit de Corps and The Blackout Pact.
Fronted by the gravely vocals of Mike Herrera (Sleeper Horse, Tin Horn Prayer), the entire place exploded on the first song. Mike sang most of the songs either in or on the crowd. The tiny stage was packed with friends and people singing along with fists in the air. All in all, it was a great night and reminded me of going to house parties and basement punk shows. Stay tuned for upcoming news about The Pact.
Mike, doing what he does best... singing his heart out.
Casey Yunko (Only Thunder) says "You're #1 guys!"
Josh Friedman with the deranged super-fan look of a 12 year old girl. 
Josh and Matty Clark of Sleeper Horse.
Friends for life... that's what it's all about. 
Scooter James... with some bad-ass new jams. 
Mike and I(ke).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
THE PACT IS BACK...
ANDY THOMAS LIVE!...
I posted a couple new videos on my YouTube page of my buddy Andy Thomas from his show last weekend at 3 Kings:
Rattling Tags, Martha Midwest
If you are in Denver tomorrow night (January 30), you should check out his show with Big Timber and Sleeper Horse at the Hi-Dive. I'll be there, with a PBR in hand. Say hi.
I LIKE THIS GUY...
"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."
- Steven Weinberg - Nobel Laureate in Physics
I just found this quote on Surfstation. I've never heard of Steven Weinberg before, but I guess he's a pretty big deal... fancy Nobel Laureate. In case you couldn't tell, I'm an Atheist.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID...
If you're cruising The Mission in San Francisco today and see this man, give him a high five and buy him a shot of whiskey. Why, you ask? Because today is David Benzler's birthday! He is one of my best friends and one of the best human beings you will ever meet. I took this picture last year on his birthday, before we headed out to The Phone Booth for drinks and back to Jessica's place for drunken peanut butter sandwiches. We were drunk, not the sandwiches.
Happy birthday, dude... I miss ya.
CALL OF THE WILD...
Josh Keyes has released his latest print "The Call I" through the David B. Smith Gallery. If you want to own a print from a great dude and an important artist, grab this one up.
LISTEN UP...
One of my favorite podcasts, Issue Oriented, has just released episode 40. This isn't your typical shitty punk podcast. Ronen has an incredible grasp on the music scene, and hosts some damn good interviews. Also, after meeting & chatting with Benny in Salt Lake at the show with Only Thunder, I know he's a good dude. So, check it out.
"Host Ronen Kauffman talks to BENNY HOROWITZ of THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM about the perils of success, steady decision making, the band's meteoric rise and much more. Then Ronen talks to BLACKENED about growing up, playing angry music for the fun of it, and more. Then Ronen talks to JOE STEINHARDT of Don Giovanni Records about strategy, sounds, and how to stay afloat as a small player in a tumultuous music industry."
Monday, January 26, 2009
YUP, THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS...
Chelsea and I were on a day trip down to the Garden of the Gods, and stumbled upon Manitou Springs. This little town has the coolest old arcade with wacky games... such as "LOOK IN BUNGHOLE". My first thought was "A penny. That's a steal." I know some places in SF where it costs a lot more than that. Needless to say, I got a roll of pennies. The rest is history... a dark, haunting history.
I will post the rest of the images from the trip this week. But now, its off to bed because we are going boarding tomorrow!! Don't hate.
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY...
If you're not familiar with Sunny Day Real Estate... get familiar! Here is an introduction into their awesomicalness. Yeah, I made that word up... but its totally appropriate here.
LIBERACE WASN'T GAY?
My friend Brian and I are having a debate on Facebook about Liberace being gay. I honestly just don't see it. A lot of guys frolick in a gold tub with bubbles or swim in a giant piano-shaped pool.
ICON IN MOTION...
N.A.S.A. "Money" feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip from Paul Griswold on Vimeo.
This video seems like more of a Shepard Fairey retrospective than a music video, but it's still pretty fresh. The song is kinda weak, but Chuck D's part is good. Surprise, surprise. You could always mute it and listen to this jam while watching the Obey graphics.
POSTER GODS...
Even wonder how the dynamic duo behind Aesthetic Apparatus does what they do? Check out these videos: Beginnings, Methods, How we do
PRETTY FRESH...
My friends Sean, Aaron and Joey have just launched the site for their new design studio Legwork. Congrats dudes... the work and the site is top notch! I see good things in the future for these cats.
NICE PACKAGE...
If you are at all interested in the world of packaging design, you've gotta check out this great blog called Lovely Package. Every day, I find more and more inspirational work that pops up on the site. It's also a great way to find out about other studios.
Here are a few of my current finds:
Gyttorp shotgun shells
Zuny leather toys
Askul Batteries
You Smell soaps
AL-COUSTIC-LINE TRIO...
I know, I know... the title is a stretch. Gimme a break.
Anyhoo... Alkaline Trio just recorded some acoustic tracks and live videos for MySpace. They even cover The Cure's Cut Here. Also, be sure to watch "Emma," its a damn good song.
And while you're there, why not download the exclusive EP?
WHO LOVES FISTING?...
Apparently, our new commander in chief and his wife do. Enjoy this. 
Also, Bush is caught trying to teach a young man about fist love. The classic Dodgeball movie quote "... looks like a retard trying to hump a doorknob" comes to mind.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
THE BLACKOUT PACT REUNION...
More pics from the Friday night Blackout Pact reunion show with Scooter to come. Stay tuned.
AHHH, THE DMV...
During a quick trip to the DMV for my new license, I caught these delights. Enjoy. 
Cool... I haven't been to a "YAR SALE" in a long time!
Across the street from the DMV was this watering hole, the Athmar Lounge. The sign caught my eye because it is so awesome. This looks like the kinda place you go to drink yourself to death, slowly. 
Yup, they spare no expense on decorations. It was about 9:30am when I took this... it looks like the dude on the right is ready to party! Or maybe he's just going in for the "Free Internet Access". Either way, kudos to you sir.
ARTY PARTY...
On the first Friday of each month down on Santa Fe, there are openings at all of the galleries. Virgil decided that it would be a good idea for Suburban Home to have their own party and show those snooty art nerds how it's done. Art, live music, a vat of nacho cheese and Boone's Farm... that's how Sub Home rolls! 
Seabron Ward... enjoying wine the way it's meant to be, in a handy box.
The art of Vinnie Fasano. I love this guy and his artwork.
The art of Ghost Buffalo singer, Marie Litton.
Rock n' roll couple Matt and Marie from Ghost Buffalo, playing live. They sounded great, as usual. To see a video of Matt and Marie's live performance, check out my YouTube page.
THE REVIVAL TOUR...
2008 saw one of the greatest tours to ever hit the road... The Revival Tour. The tour featured Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Tim Barry (Avail) and Ben Nichols (Lucero) - along with multiple guests in each town. Back in late October, the tour finally made it's way to Colorado and hit Ft. Collins first. There was no way we were gonna wait until the next night when they were playing in Denver... that would be too easy. So, we packed up the Sleeper Horse van (complete with a 1980s Dolly Parton pink interior) and headed north. The crew was Josh, Aaron, Virgil, Ralph, Caroline, Jenn, PBR and myself. We made our way to The Aggie theater and met up with the guys. Also on the bill that night were our friends Austin Lucas and Jon Snodgrass. I had been waiting for this show for months and knew it was gonna be a good night... and it was. Here are a few photos from the show. If you actually want to see some good photos, Ralph posted some here.
I also posted some videos from the evening on my YouTube page:
• Tim Barry (The Revival Tour) - Dog Bumped
• Ben Nichols and Jon Snodgrass (The Revival Tour) - Old Sad Song
• Austin Lucas with Chuck Ragan (The Revival Tour) - Sun or Snow
and Austin was kind enough to dedicate a song to me... Austin Lucas with Chuck Ragan (The Revival Tour) - Man Alive This might be my favorite song of 2008. So good.
Our sweet chariot. 
That's Ralph... just be glad he's hiding his face. It ain't pretty.
I believe the term is "road sodas". Dee-lish.
Jenn and Caroline braved the trip with a bunch of stinky dudes. They are rock stars in my book. 
Ralph showing Virgil that he really is prettier in pink. You go girl!
We park the van, get out and this is the first thing we see. I'd love to see the bitter, chain smoking hag that teaches this class. 
We had some great side stage spots for the show, but my pictures didn't turn out too good. 
Check out Ralph's photos... he's an "artist". 
Caroline and Josh.
Me and the knuckleheads... Caroline, Aaron and Josh.
To say Virgil had a "good time" at the show would be a major understatement. Here, Jenn and Caroline are "guiding" him down the street... after peeing in a shop doorway. Maybe hitting up the Surfside Seven for more drinks after the show wasn't a good idea? But, we did get to hear Josh sing all The Gaslight Anthem songs on the jukebox. Awesome.
After a 3am stop at a sidewalk gyro stand, it was back in the van and off to the hotel. Virgil passed out as soon as he sat down... poor Caroline.
This one is my favorite.
After some LATE night adventures at the local Denny's, it was breakfast burritos and back on the road to Denver. Ralph decided to catch up on some sleep. All in all... it was an epic evening. Thanks guys!
BACK ON THE BLOG...
So... it's been a while since I've worked on the blog. Did you miss me? I hope there's no hard feelings. I was gonna call, I swear. After deciding to go back to full-time freelancing and getting the FUN is OK site up, life got pretty busy and the blog fell by the wayside. I decided that if doing the blog ever became something other than a fun side project, then it was time to take a break... so I did.
My last post was a celebratory one, with the announcement of Barack Obama as our new president. I hate to see it go, but it looks like I'm gonna have to retire my George Bush Not My President tee from the good kids over at PunkVoter.com. I've proudly worn this shirt for 8 years and it's been to 4 countries, but now it's time to say goodbye.
Less than a month into 2009 and I've already been to a wedding, a funeral and 4 of these United States. I spent the holidays with my family in Kansas. Chelsea joined me for a wild New Year's Eve, Kansas style. Then we were off to California for Jessie Lev's wedding in Fortuna. I got to meet all of Chelsea's old crew team, get asked when we're getting married about a thousand times and dine on a fine hangover meal at Denny's. It was a busy (but amazing) 3 days.
Soon after we got back to Denver, I found out that my old roommate Scott Murray died suddenly. The news shocked me and kept me numb for a day, until I could wrap my mind around it. Scott was a great guy and even though we hadn't been good about keeping in touch, he was a good friend. I flew back to Fresno for the funeral and got to see some of my college buddies - Guito, Alec, Nik, Rob and Chris. It bothers me that it takes something that painful to get friends together, but I guess we all get busy with our daily lives.
After the funeral, I headed up to SF for a few days to see some of my closest friends. Dinner at The Mahaloneys on Friday night with Daniel, Rachel, Peter, Anna, Mike and Steven was awesome! Breakfast at Scharfenberger on Saturday with Jocelynn, her mom and Terry was dee-licious. Then it was off to the old hood to spend the day with Mr. David Benzler. Man, I miss that guy. I hadn't seen him in almost a year, but we didn't skip a beat. We grilled sausages on his deck in Bernal Heights and had the best sunset view of the city that I've ever seen. Then Jon came through and we hung out drinking while David snored the paint off the walls. After waking his old ass up, we headed down the hill to Nap's on picturesque Mission Blvd. to play dice in the backyard. Good times, good times... that was until the guy with the scorpion tattoo on his face wanted to play. David handled the dude and we kept on playing. Sunday morning, I trekked through the Mission to Boogaloos for breakfast with Anee. You can take the girl out of the Mission, but you can't... well, you know the old saying. We cruised around for a while and she bought a New Kids on The Block doll from a crackhead on the street. Just like the old days.
Over the next week or so, I will attempt to play catch up on the blog and post photos and wise-ass comments from all the events that have taken place over the last few months. I will also attempt to write a longer run-on sentence than the one you just read. Jeez.
I was nervous about where to start this first post, but I think I've rambled long enough. 2009 is going to be a great year. I've got my girl and life is good. Stay tuned.
