ACROBATICS EVERYDAY

so i’ve got my first full-time job and i finally understand the life-drain.

this friday is going to be off the heasy heezy heasie heezee heizi

+ INFINITE BODY closing out the night, probably outside the grille. dude’s moving to portland really soon so be sure to stay for his set!

this is probably going to be the most fun show we’ve ever done.

here’s a tune by NOSE BLEED ISLAND, a band emily turned me on to. they rule, this song rules, nosebleeds rule.

one time i had a 10 minute nosebleed in the shower, with no apparent pretext. it was like i had been punched by donkey kong there was so much blood but 0 pain. it was weird.

[nose bleed island - nazo tears]
fall is looking like a tidal wave of sound.
see you cats on friday, be well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

haven’t kept up with posting…but that’s about to change!
so i can’t stop listening to african music.

here’s an amazing record by a gentleman named saka aquaye and his ensemble entitled “ghana high-life & other popular music.” it was recorded in 1969.

[saka aquaye - ghana high-life & other popular music]

it’s compelling, totally fun, and dancable music. i loveeee it.

in other news - great shows today and yesterday. peter walker was a TREAT to host, and religious girls always bring the jam. thanks to death by panda erik and sprawl out for rounding out the bill with their respectively awesome brands of rock.

i also wanna extend a hand to all the folks who come out regularly to acrobatics everyday shows. it means the world to me and i hope you are all having as much fun as i am.

i am beyond excited for our shows in august. they will rule so hard.

awesome right? and then.

i feel like indian jewelry’s live show could be like the today version of the velvet underground 1966.

AND THAO!

all killer no filler.

check it, see you soon.

SO much good music from mali. this post is to highlight a new favorite.

Toumani Diabaté is a dude who plays a stringed instrument called the kora. I don’t know what it is, but it is big. It sounds like a lute and a harp and a dulcimer and a lot of other things but in the hands of Mr. Diabaté it sounds like perfect. This is definitely among the finest music in the world and I really love it a LOT. Here is a jam from his first album, Kaira, which came out twenty years ago.

[Toumani Diabaté - jarabi]

Here he blows minds in Brooklyn.

been a swell swell week. full of good music and good laughs. still spinning THE REFRAIN by extra life on repeat, which i posted up a couple days ago. i love it to death, please check it out if you haven’t yet. here is them on myspace, too.

super cool AE show next tuesday. check the bands out, it will be 100% a blast. what is better than surf guitar sounds?

here’s a tune i dig lots. i wish i was there in 1952 to witness 4′33. of course, by putting myself in such a theoretical scenario, i have to imagine that in 1952 i would be hip enough to know about john cage and all the multi-media art pouring out of new york city in the 50s. probably not!
[john cage - story]

and for kicks, a great video you may have already seen.

some people’s creativity and patience is so incredibly humbling.

june 25th / bird names and friends went so swimmingly. no stress. no hate. just AWESOME performers and fun times. thanks to danny of jehova’s fitness, wummin, bird names, and EP from imagine “the” band for making it a fantastic night in every way.

just heard this tune for the first time and it is 100% killer. unschockingly, dude is an ex-dirty projector. being in that band is like college in the alt-life narrative of making amazing music (also notable as a member of Zs and Ocrilim, both groups epically virtuous in their own right).

[extra life - the refrain]

what a goddamn song! he even plays a dano.
summer jam 2008.

lots of summer shows coming up soon, check it out on the main page!

addendum:

i almost forgot. i attended an interesting ‘concert’ last night at the VESTAL (watch company) HQ in costa mesa.

athens, ga band DARK MEAT had been flown in courtesy of the company to perform to a crowd made up almost entirely of people not quite there for the musical portion of the evening.

the following is a video i shot on my cell phone of the insanity. the audio and video is awful but it is EXACTLY the right experience. watch for where my phone is knocked out of my hand by a high-speed beach ball.

so june 14th/bright tomorrow fest has come and gone, leaving us all to wonder, did i really just see 12 bands in approximately nine hours? and i paid only $8 to see this much radness? and most earnestly, did that huge bag of tortilla chips really only cost $3.79?  yes, my friends.  you’d better believe it.

thanks to all who came out and supported us.  it truly means a great deal to us.   hopefully everyone had a good time.  thanks to all of the helpers, the attendees, the patient bands, the cute babies, EVERYONE.  this was definitely a learning experience and now we know how to make BRIGHT TOMORROW 2009 even better.   

here are a few pictures from the day.  i think i took too many photos of talkdemonic (i was just too excited to finally see them play, man) because my batteries died soon after.

starting the afternoon off right!

the aforementioned chips.  thanks, smart and final.

talkdemonic.  so good.  it’s a shame they had to play first.

palms.  ex-finches. 

lloyd y michael. 

voice on tape.  “we beat that cancer!”

and then my batteries died, leaving me unable to capture the cuteness of the endless bummer’s set in the park, the rest of the great bands, and the crazy shenanigans that went on into the night.  my bad.  C’EST LA VIE.

i leave you with my favorite talkdemonic track.  i’m pretty sure something ruptured inside of me when i heard them begin this.  a beautiful song usually does that to me. 

:::  talkdemonic - dusty fluorescent/wooden shelves  :::  (folk-y, tronic-y, percussion-heav-y)

let me know if you enjoyed the endless bummer as much as i did.  i have some conveniently zipped tracks and positive vibes to share.

REMINDER: BRIGHT TOMORROW FEST IS HAPPENING TODAY.

bring a loved one, your enemy, your neighbor, your roommate, someone you secretly love(d), your sibling, your mom or pop, your bfffffff, or someone who likes music.

you bet yo’ ass it’ll be rad.

also, here’s the link to the l.a. times article: whoooooop.

and here’s a cute video from port o’brien. this song is called “I Woke Up Today.”
summer anthem 2k8?

thanks for posting those rad pix vivian.

to anyone who came out and saw ELEVATORS, apologies. next time will be more enthralling, exciting, adventurous, and titillating.

there is an amazing show coming up on saturday, june 14th. this is the raddest show uci has ever seen.

every band playing is top shelf and there will be more added. come and make it a day to fucking remember! i mean, how often do you get to end a school year with a day-long fest of rock? not often enough. if you are graduating on this day…come after, in your cap and gown. that would be badass.

about a year ago probably i lifted a cd from the kuci reject bin that looked classy. i didn’t really listen to it for a few months, but i’ve listened to it a lot this year. the cd is a self-titled disc by dutch band DE KIFT. instead of just giving you a track, i’m going to go ahead and link you the whole record. i don’t believe the disc is really sold very many places, nor has the band ever really played shows in the US as far as i know.

[de kift - de kift]

if you dig it, you can buy it here.

john darnielle of the mt goats exclaims his love for the record here.

french cinedudes la bogotheque have some vids here.

it RULES. sometimes somber sometimes upbeat brassy numbers with killer production and dutch vox. think beirut, for an easy comparison, but perhaps more dynamic, and without zach condon’s pretty face.

a real worldly sound definitely worth your time.

JUNE 14 OR BUST

ok, so i know this isn’t really acrobatics everyday relevant, but here are some pictures of Elevators first show:

FYI, Elevators is (in alphabetical order):
Brian, Jake (although he was m.i.a. today), Kyle, Paul, and Sam.

Most are members of our humble community.

monday was so awesome, to echo vivian. i feel like the bands killed it and the area was fantastic and the little audience felt good.

let’s look forwards to JUNE 14TH. it will be a 100% blast.

[the green arrows - mwanda waenda]

[the green arrows - chipo choroorwa]

if you like VAMPIRE WEEKEND and want to see where they are (graciously) stealing their riffs from, listen to these zimbabwean jams from the 70s.

when i listen to music like this i can’t help but consider context. where are the green arrow today? what did they each do with their lives? are they still living? in zimbabwe? are they making any money from the compilation of their recordings (as far as i know) by ANALOG AFRICA? do they realize that they are amazing?

the guitars on these recordings are very pointy but not like LES SAVY FAV or another angular band. they are pointy but they don’t actually poke you. to be honest, the guitar sounds make me think of the soundtracks to bust-a-move/bubble bobble, but that is very much a good thing. the guitar and bass interlock like a key in a lock, opening the door to awesome.

i saw this movie today, it was wacky:

SLEEPLESS

i saw this movie on monday, it was AMAZING:

POLICE STORY 3

i would recommend both of them. i had no idea michelle yeoh was such a foxy badass in 1992. i also don’t think i knew how to swim, ride a bike, or tie my shoes in 1992.