Endangered Optimism [entries|friends|calendar] Killing You Softly [ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ] [ calendar | livejournal calendar ]

guten tag! [16 Jul 2008|08:22pm] it's been a long time. and only because i don't have much to say here. really. the Sons of Oswald album is done. I like it. It rocks. We have CDs pressed (300) and it comes out on iTunes and all that other online bullshit in the coming weeks. the benefits of running a label with distribution. other than that... been working... got back into scale model building (been like 25 years or so)... riding the motorcycle a lot now that it's running like a champ... Spackle played a show for the first time in 10 years in May for Scot's 40th bday... it was tons o' fun! although super intense singing/playing songs that meant the world to me over a decade ago... first weekend in august i am going to Beyer High School's 20th reunion in Modesto... though my 20th is NEXT year, i'm going with a friend as her "date" since her husband had no interest in it and most of my friends were a year older than me. and most of my current friends from that class are not even going! whatever. the kicker? Veronica and i haven't seen each other in 20 years! and we are having a lunch that day with a bunch of folks from back in the day. i was the only guy with 7 girls. 5 of them moved with me from private school to public school so when i arrived at public school i had 5 built-in girlfriends, all pretty hot too (first girl i ever kissed is in their ranks). but i haven't seen any of them except ONE (my oldest friend of the group) in 20 years! so it should be weeeeeird. how do i explain the last 20 years? so many horrible and amazing things have happened... 3 comments|post comment

Van Halen [23 Dec 2007|03:19pm] last night we went and saw Van Halen with David Lee Roth, finally back in the band. (I wouldn't give two nickels to see Sammy Hagar do anything, except maybe get beat up.) It was amazing. Period. Sober Eddie: destroyed. great tone and excellent ad-lib soloing throughout. he was obviously having a great time. Roth: Pure genius. he made VH X-rated again, thank god. VH is a PARTY band... and he brought it. 24 songs almost non-stop, high kicks, karate moves, great singing and stories of his youth. brilliant. Alex: still a great drummer and as tyler pointed out, very underrated. Wolfgang (the questionable member): for 16 years old the kid killed. perfect vocal harmonies and spot-on bass playing. he did a really good job. too bad he inherited his mother's physical attributes. he needs to lose weight before he becomes a candidate for diabetes. but he got his family name's musical talent, no doubt. Tickets were expensive but it was worth it. They earned their money. post comment

i'm in a state [23 Dec 2007|03:16pm] I've managed to pretty much avoid the south and much of the east coast. good thing! create your own visited states map or check out these Google Hacks. 1 comment|post comment

[09 Dec 2007|05:53pm] Another weekend almost over. what did i do? well... friday we went to the Emily the Strange holiday party where jessica was the dj. it was fun! Matt and i did this dance where we were essentially shoveling sushi into our mouths while walking... moon-walking rather. it was all pretty idiotic. but fun!! the music ruled and J played "Urgent" by Foreigner, which is a magical song. I missed Conan's bday party. I know, i'm sorry dood. You'll be 36 soon enough so don't worry. PLENTY of party left in you. Saturday I helped a friend move in SF, went to dinner at Fresca on 24th St. (it rules), and THEN went to a triple birthday party! Jeez. I just had no energy left to "party". Sorry. My friend Scott has a theory: You can only do two things in a day. The third always gets short-shrift. That's true i think. after the rad dinner I was ready to go home. the weird thing is we went to bed at like 11 PM and I had a rare bout of insomnia. At the bday party i could have slept right there under the bar... but 30 min later at home i was wide awake until well after 2 AM. late night TV sucks by the way. So this morning i missed my 9 AM soccer game (sorry tyler). I woke up at 9 AM and felt like someone had clubbed me in my sleep. So today it's all groceries and laundry and relaxing and soon... hopefully sleeping. Take it easy out there. Don't go to church in Colorado. post comment

[21 Oct 2007|07:50pm] i never post i never post i never post duh why not sure how about i ditch punctuation so you can figure out the sentence structure and meaning just using the words ill give you a hint though and actually double space because i cannot deal with all the words just run together eep i work and i like my newish job but its so taxing on my brain that by friday i feel like a vegetable we adopted a cat his name is milo but i call him knuckles and i have no idea why i call him that but thats what i called him on the day i met him hes been in our hood for a few years being fed by our neighbor but he is really independent and hangs out outdoors a lot which is great because im allergic to cats fancy that but hes cute and makes a big mess when he eats and is super clean for an outdoor cat he rocks what else im bored with the no punctuation thing i love our house. i probably post that any time i post anything. yesterday i worked on the motorcycle in the garage and listened to rock music. it was rad. and having a washer and dryer in there is amazing. i got one of those craftsman red tools chests with drawers and shit. and picked up a set of SK screwdrivers. know them? awesome fucking tools. super high quality. you get what you pay for with tools. baseball is on. who cares? ok, i think i need sushi now! 3 comments|post comment

martinize my shorts [03 Sep 2007|04:40pm] we bought a fancy washer and dryer yesterday at Lowe's. it won't be delivered for two weeks! fuckers. i had to go do laundry the old way up on shattuck. had a great conversation with an old homeless guy. he said i had great ideas and that i should run for president! ha! let me say that i am really looking forward to doing laundry at home! we've been unpacking and going crazy getting our house in order. and i start a new job tomorrow. this is all kind of too much for me but whatever. our show in concord saturday nite fucking sucked shit. the "sound man" needed to have his head kicked in. what a crap nite for us and triclops. i think White Pine had a good time. but then again they don't have a singer... singers were not on the list of people to be heard that nite. neat. and i broke my V. not a string, but the guitar. my high E will no longer stay on the nut at top of headstock after some heavy playing. i played 90% of our set with 5 strings. so annoying. fuck concord. before i die i really need to call someone a "jive turkey". gotta work on that... 5 comments|post comment

ethical crisis [27 Aug 2007|09:32am] So i've ALWAYS wanted to be in a band that had girls up front and a pit right behind them. And now I got it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinball_mafia/ Those are pics from Friday night's show at Blake's. Girls! A violent pit! Fist fights! Should I feel thrilled or dirty? I think 5 years ago I would have been disgusted. But then I think back to my favorite bands: Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Articles of Faith, Bl'ast, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Youth Brigade (DC), The FUs, SS Decontrol... and they all had pits! Granted it was the early 80s... But it's all about the youth. Our 21+ shows are a total bore-fest. We don't get excited because people just stand there and gawk. At our all-ages shows things get REALLY hairy and I LOVE the energy. Yeah, it could just be mindless violence cuz the music is fast and intense... but when some 17 year old kid comes up to me after we play and says that he loves what we're doing... well, fuck my ethical crisis. I just got through to some kid. So I have to ask myself... what do I do this for? Am I trying to make some sort of artistic statement? I tried that in ALL of my previous bands. Do I just want to have fun, write some killer riffs and let the pieces fall where they will? Yes. ------- Last week of work! I got a case of the "fuck its". House is coming along nicely. LOTS of shit to put away. This morning I woke up and it was soooo quiet... I could have slept another 3 hours. 3 comments|post comment

Sons of Oswald in the bay area this week [20 Aug 2007|03:26pm] my ugly-ass band is playing twice this week. First is Wednesday August 22 at Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, San Francisco. We are the middle band between The Nation Blue (Australia) and Sabertooth Tiger (LA, on GSL records). Sabertooth kicks ass. Don't miss this one. Show starts at 9 PM, 21+, $6. (Not listed on our myspace page but it is happening!) Next is Friday August 24 at Blake's in Berkeley at 2367 Telegraph Avenue. We are third of four bands. Domeshot, Murder At The Cathedral and Myotonia. Come early for Myotonia. They rock. Show at 9 PM, all ages, $10. As always, we are here: http://www.myspace.com/sonsofoswald post comment

life recap [20 Aug 2007|02:06pm] [ music | Dinosaur Jr. Live in 1989 ] Two weekendss ago the madness began. Went to another wedding party thing in Encinitas with Kellie's extended friends of the family and got proper "wedding gifts" after registering at Bed Bath and Beyond. (If you sing that title to the chorus of the Scorpion's "Bad Boys Running Wild" then you will be singing as I do when I go there.) Someone thankfully got us the Mikasa decanter and 4 glass set. People rock sometimes. Actually we got some rad shit I never knew I needed. BBB is a badass place. We drove home Monday. We packed for Spain. We got up at 3:30 AM Tuesday and went to the airport. Our flight left at 7 AM. We landed in Philly at some point and then our flight to Barcelona was delayed 3.5 hours. Thanks US Air. Fuck off. We landed in Barce around 11 AM or so. A cab took us to our hotel in city center. What we did: Drank sangria and ate constantly. Hung out in a few pubs with Brits so I could watch football (soccer) matches. Drank more there. Went to Montserrat (rad). Went to the Dali museum in Figueres (the highlight!). Went to all the Guadi buildings. Not too impressed with that. I went to Camp Nou without Kel (the footie stadium for FC Barcelona. 100K seater!) Walked all over the place. I can safely say I know my way around there. Thoughts on Barce: People dont work. They sit around all day just drinking, eating, smoking and talking. My kind of work ethic. Spaniards are nice. Their food is somewhat bland but that's ok. Their sangria is top drawer. Their beer sucks. French tourists also suck. Rude, stupid, slow, lame, and annoying. Brits in Spain are a delight. Their money goes further there than ours does, WAY further. US dollar sucks. Our hotel rocked. Hotel Ingleterra. Stay there. Barce's transit system is kind of confusing. The tube in England is WAY easier. It was hot and crazy all the time except at about 7 AM when everyone was either passed out or still partying indoors somewhere. Crazy Spaniards. You can't get a cup of coffee at 7:30 AM anywhere. Oh, and their coffee was THE BEST. Cafe con leche if you're wondering. We *knew* we had to come home to finish packing and then a move... oh yeah, we got a house in oakland. no, we rent, sadly. But I dont care. It's awesome. 65th and Shattuck basically. We flew home Wednesday and got home Wednesday nite at 10 PM. We were awake for 24 hours straight. I'm a bit old for that. We packed Thursday and moved Friday. It was hot and grueling. I liken it to the Bataan death march. We lived on one of the steepest streets in SF. Ever park a 17 foot truck on a 25% grade? Then load it with crap and watch it list to one side? Then try and roll it a bit and back up the hill? Don't try. Not fun. We are still moving stuff over but for the most part our lives are in Oakland now. I lived in SF for 14.6 years. Holy shit. So what's it like? A sweet 1930s Craftsman with split levels. Garage, big back yard, windows everywhere, two bedrooms, washer/dryer hookups (thank you god), and NO NEIGHBORS NEAR US. Closest house is on one side about 15 feet away. And Matt Waters lives around the corner. How great is that? The difference of having your own SPACE is incredible. I just wander around the house muttering, "I fucking live here... I totally live here..." Kellie keeps thinking we are going to wake up and be in our old house. (And for those who have not been to that house, i wouldn't ask my enemies to live there.) I finally have a garage to tinker in. Work on the BMW, fix amps, sit just inside my garage with the door open and a shotgun on my lap and a keg of beer beside me... you know, the stuff dreams are made of! Oh, and while I was in Spain I found out I got a new job. DBA and data analyst/reporting. Excellent career move and a major salary increase. Stuff just happens. I blame it on Kel because I am unlucky. She is blessed. I just get her run-off. (That sounded more gross than I wanted to.) I'm looking forward to being done moving, starting the new job and just sitting on my couch in the sun watching footie on the TV. Doesn't that sound great? 17 comments|post comment

[01 Aug 2007|03:20pm] Today is driving me crazy! At some point in the next 24 hours I find out a bunch of earth shattering (for me) decisions! What will they be?? Who knows?? More later... PS: No, not babies.

i copy, i paste [22 Jul 2007|11:06pm] Lund's podcast More stupid stuff! Lund Podcast 4 Enjoy! -- Lund post comment

Sonic Youth "Daydream Nation" - July 19, 2007 [20 Jul 2007|09:52am] Last nite I went to see Sonic Youth perform the entirety of "Daydream Nation" at some high school auditorium in Berkeley. This was important to me because "Daydream Nation" came out at a time in my life where music needed to be pushed forward into the 90s.  Dinosaur Jr. was already doing that along with the Pixies but Sonic Youth had managed to create some kind of "art indie rock" that was truly amazing.  It broke me out of the punk/hardcore/goth thing that was going on in Modesto in the mid- late-80s. First I'll say this: they are old.  I mean Sonic "Youth" qualifies as a complete misnomer now.  But Thurston was still bouncy and could still hit all the notes vocally.  What I also realized is that most of the songs primary riffs appear to be his.  I had always thought that Renaldo was the real mastermind.  And he was... but more for creating the atmosphere and space on "Daydream".  The guitars didn't sound very good in the venue.  Perhaps a bit too dry for my tastes.  And the bass wasn't really present at all.  The drums were pummeling and Steve Shelley is still one of the best rock drummers anywhere.  He didn't let them slow anything down, constantly pushing the momentum forward even on the more spacey and noisy bits.  Good for him! They pretty much played everything spot on.  There were a few screw-ups on stage which resulted in all of them looking at each other but more out of humor than anger.  It was obvious they were having a good time.  The sound quality suffered a bit due to the boominess of the room.  And Kim Gordan has lost some of her vocal skill.  I mean she never really sang anyway but just sort of wailed and made noises like she was getting screwed in the bathroom at a dive bar.  But she was pretty bouncy too. Renaldo should have been cranked up.  His guitar work was so tweaked out and it needed to cover Thurston's more dry tone. The thing is, "Daydream Nation" is almost like "Sgt. Pepper" in a way.  So much aural activity and noise and space and mood... it's hard to convey that live.  I prefer hearing it as it stands on the album but it was good to see them play it all. Then they left the stage.  And came back.  And Jason Lowenstein from Sebadoh joined them on bass (I think that's who it was) to perform some new songs from their album of last year.  Terrible.  Awful.  Boring.  Mid-Tempo.  All the songs sounded the same: jangly, happy mid-tempo, tepid indie-rock.  I felt like I did when I saw Pavement on "Crooked Rain" tour (1995).  Ian and I stood there watching as they played boring mid-tempo indie rock with two drummers (Grateful Dead anyone?), lame hipster posturing and ridiculous lyrics that lacked the depth of work from "Slanted and Enchanted" and earlier.  Pavement had become a parody of itself.  And as Kim Gordan danced around sans bass trying to actually "sing" over this boring racket, I thought, "If they had ended it all after 'DN' had come out they would have been the greatest indie band of all time."  But I guess we all have bills to pay. Sonic Youth essentials: "Confusion Is Sex" - 1983 - A tumultuous and dangerous recording coming out on the tail end of their time with Glenn Branca's orchestra and the "No Wave" scene in NYC.  Brutal and punk, total trash, total art. "Bad Moon Rising" - 1985 - One of the best albums of the 80s.  Dark and mysterious with SY finally approaching something like "songs" but still with that atonal and detuned madness driving it all.  Masterpiece. "Sister" - 1986 - Considered by many to be the best SY album.  It is warm and fuzzy and catchy and noisy.  Every song has something in it that makes you happy. "Daydream Nation" - 1988 - Perfection on wax.  Not a dud on the record.  Totally absorbing and acceptable but still noisy and arty as fuck. 6 comments|post comment

MySpace and old bands [18 Jul 2007|10:36am] So I finally got around to adding my old projects to MySpace.  The impetus was that our digital distributor made a deal with SNOCAP to get our stuff on MySpace for direct download/purchase. Anyway, go to these sites and be my friend.  Ya know... cuz i don't have any... except Kate! Guilt Trip City Lo Han The Rail Gun Ensemble and of course Spackle out. 1 comment|post comment

Hard lessons learned [13 Jul 2007|12:57pm] As some of you may know I have a 30 year old motorcycle that requires love and attention.  The PO (previous owner) neglected the bike so much so that I have an uphill climb with it.  But I don't care.  I love my BMW. Work I've done so far myself: Rebuilt carbs top to bottom (all rubber, needles and floats), changed all fluids, adjusted valves, set timing, balanced carbs, replaced breather valve (nitemare), changed air filter, cleaned sludge on top of crankcase, replaced shocks, changed all cables, rebuilt master cylinder (total bitch), new brake hoses (stainless steel), new seat, greased swing arm pivot and general cleaning and maintenance of things as they come up. Work left to do: Top end rebuild (super labor intensive and have to send jugs/pistons off for honing), front fork rebuild, front main seal and timing chain replacement (can't do this one myself), rear main seal replacement and transmission rebuild (NOT doing this one myself), replace oil pan seal (big mess), grease rear wheel bearings (not doing this one either), lubing shaft input splines and... painting. Which is now over. Thing is, I decided to paint the bike myself.  I built a paint booth in the downstairs of our house, complete with negative airflow and incoming air filter.  I prepped the hell out of the parts and managed to get rid of a dent in the tank.  My buddy loaned me a compressor and HVLP gun.  Paint and clearcoat cost about $150 total.  I primed, shot the parts with black and clear coated.  But... you have to sand and polish the clear coat and it is BRUTAL hard to get right.  I went to City Paints to ask how to proceed and they told me to just take it to a professional cuz black shows every flaw in the clear surface.  Great. So I went to the shop they recommended.  They said my prepping and base coat were very good but my clear coat was all fucked up.  They said they would reshoot the whole thing for me for less than what I paid to build the booth and buy the paint. Fuck.  Lesson learned.  Never painting anything ever again. I was told that this kind of job could be as much as $1200.  Well, it's nowhere near that! So I pick up the parts today and I get to put my bike back together.  Pics to follow!  I am so excited!!! 4 comments|post comment

[11 Jul 2007|12:22pm] [ music | Hardcore Devo 1974-1977 ] Everyday at the gym i usually catch a glimpse of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire".  I'm usually getting pummeled with rock thru headphones and don't have my glasses on so I have to squint to read the questions. I realized that I would lose in the first three rounds because all of the questions are bonehead pop-culture bullshit that I would NEVER know. But once we're up to about $8000, I'm nailing that shit... unless more pop-culture shows up.  Then I'm fucked. Makes me miss pub trivia at Blackthorn Tavern.  (sigh)  I always need a partner to get thru the categories of: (new) movies, tv, musicals, and sports. 9 comments|post comment

[03 Jul 2007|10:26pm] Bela Lugosi in "Murders In the Rue Morgue".  Pre-code horror brilliance from 1932. Bela should have been huge.  He was just fucking amazing.  Even in Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster", Lugosi still shines thru the shitty plot and crappy acting from everyone around him.  What an astounding and tragic figure in film history. I think I need to join his fan club or something. 1 comment|post comment

Sons of Oswald this FRIDAY [03 Jul 2007|12:23pm] Please come to this show. It has been plagued with bands canceling. Initially we were opening and now we are HEADLINING. Ugh. Anyway, our pals in White Pine rock so come out. Seriously. We're gonna play some heavy shit. So come out. 2 comments|post comment

antiques and our history for sale [18 Jun 2007|01:10pm] This weekend we went camping up in Hendy Woods near Philo, CA.  In Mendecino County.  It was a beautiful drive up and the campground was awesome.  Too bad there was no water in the river. Anyway, on our way home we decided to stop in a cute little town called Geyserville where they have a few antique shops, well, more like antique barns!  HUGE places with different sellers.  At first i was looking for a nice old tube radio from the 20s or 30s... couldn't find one worth restoring.  Kellie was looking at lamps from the 30s...  Then we decided to look at crystal decanters for booze and stumbled on a beautiful one from the late 20s with a star pattern.  Bought that and dug up 4 glasses to match.  Then we got a waterback pitcher that matched as well!  And at another shop we got a crystal ice bucket to go with.  We decided we would go for a 1930s era living room.  I already have a fan, film projector and camera all from the 30s.  Also, I'm looking for a floor standing tube radio to be the centerpiece. Ok, all that is great but this is what I realized wandering these antique booths.  Some were HUGE and loaded with "Americana" history.  Incredible what shit costs.  Even stupid things like a Star Trek plate from the 60s.  And there was stuff that I actually OWNED. This elderly woman walked by and asked how much the fishing baskets were going for... $75.  She had one at home.  I said to her, "Don't you find it strange that we have to pay top dollar for our history?  Stuff that others once found to be trash is now highly sought-after 'pieces'?"  She concurred that it was odd.  And I felt like we had to buy back our history.  Buy back quality American goods.  EVERYTHING I picked up was made in America or maybe Europe. My fan from the late 1930s has an engine in it that you can barely hear.  The thing is quiet and smooth, like a Rolls Royce engine is powering it.  Everything now is disposable, and plastic...  What happened to the USA in manufacturing?  Yes, I know the answer... cheaper labor overseas... but the QUALITY of goods...  Everything we buy now is plastic or IKEA or some other bullshit.  Yeah it looks good but it isn't built to last and is meant to be replaced soon.  Do you think there will be collectors for "mid-90s IKEA bookshelves"?  Doubt it. It makes me sad because the 1920s-1950s were the American production zenith.  The goods made then are superb for the most part.  I picked up a leather bag from the 1940s that was still completely solid.  I couldn't believe it.  There was a desk from 1905 with a leather top!  Leather top!  And it was amazing (and $1000).  All kinds of furniture made from oak, mahagoney, etc... Am I the only one saddened by this?  That we might make processors and good tools still but for the most part we are an "idea" country?  I don't like it. 3 comments|post comment

[14 Jun 2007|02:43pm] You know what was great?  Back in the '40s when men could call women "toots" or "sweetheart" without it causing a stir. Imagine walking up to a hat check girl and asking, "Hey toots, ya got a match?"  Wow.  That is great. And in the classic "They Drive By Night", Ann Sheridan's character is referred to as "Red" because... she has red hair!  Brilliant!  She was also the hottest chick ever in that film.  Jeez. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033149/ Anyway, this is kind of in jest.  I just find that there is a subsection of language that is dead do to a societal shift.  Interesting. See ya later, toots. 6 comments|post comment

[25 May 2007|09:00am] april and may podcasts up now. http://lund.podomatic.com/ post comment

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