Warped Tour

Ohmaigawsh.

Warped ruled. It was awesome. Amazing. Out of this world legit. Why? I'll tell ya: I MET BAYSIDE.

That's right. What you are seeing is not thine's eyes decieving you. I met, conversed, and photographed with Bayside.

Got to Pomona around 9:30 in the AM, waited around for an hour and a half, got in and went straight to the Hurley stage to see my beloveds play a blistering half hour set choc full of the hits, and then later that day went to their merch tent for their signing and met and talked to all of them. Chris (the drummer, all tatted up) and Jack (lead guitarist and avaitor wearer) were really sweet, and thanked me when I told them that every time I see them they blow me away. Nick (the bassist) was very soft spoken and a real nice dude. Anthony (the singer) was very humble and super cool. Those two were really appreciative when I told them that they had no idea how much their music meant to me. I'm so happy that I didn't clam up and look like a deer in the headlights when I met them. I got some really nice girl from Moreno Valley to take our pictures. They signed a poster of their set times that I stole off of a trashcan, and which I framed and hung on my wall this morning. It is glorious.

In other news, I got to see the three bands that I wanted to while at Warped: Bayside, Thrice, and NOFX. Bayside I already gushed about, so on to the next ones. Thrice played perfectly. They seriously sounded as perfect live as they do on their albums. NOFX was by far the funniest on stage banter providing band. Fat Mike managed to insult Jews, Mexicans, black people, Michael Jackson, and his bandmates, all in a 40 minute set. They played on of my favorite songs off their new record Coaster (or Frisbee if you were like me and picked up the vinyl copy), "My Orphan Year". I also managed to get a few pictures of those two groups onstage.

It was such a great day. I got everything and more that I wanted out of it.

And to top it off, we ate at Denny's afterwards.

Solid Gold.

MJ.

Michael Jackson is dead.

No matter how brillant he was in his music, he had issues. I feel very very conflicted about how to feel about this.

My fire list.

Today at work I was talking to my friend about how during the last earthquake we had here, the first thing I went to grab was my record collection. From there the conversation went on for another 20 minutes about all the vinyl I have recently ordered, and so on and so forth. Then she said something profound. She said "Now that you have so many records, you might not be able to carry them all out in an earthquake"

This has rattled me to my very core. Mostly because it's true.

I have a hard time picking up my Target wood woven milk crate that houses my records because it is so full of the goodness, that if there were a fire or something, I would not be able to save my records or myself. I would have to choose between life with no vinyl, or death with melted vinyl.

It's a terrible thought to behold.

So I have begun work on a list. A list I have tentatively titled: If My House Was On Fire and I Was Running for My Life, Which 5 Records Would I Save?

Here is a list of contenders. This is not a final list. I reserve the right to change and interchange the records and their positions at any time. When I have my final list, I'll let you know. Scouts honor.

EDIT: I just realized that the number one spot is already decided. That is non-debatable.

Cloie's If My House Was On Fire and I Was Running for My Life, Which 5 Records Would I Save? list version 1.0

1. Bayside - The Walking Wounded
2. Verse - Aggression
3. Fake Problems - It's Great To Be Alive
4. New Found Glory - s/t picture disc
5. Menzingers - Hold On, Dodge! 7" EP

A few quick things

1 - If you are going to be a pretentious writer, at least learn how to correctly spell and punctuate your useless rants. And learn how to Google. Not knowing when an album was released is inexcusable in the internet era.

2 - I'm sleepy.

3 - Dear Pitchfork, because of this I am feeling like the picture below accurately represents how I feel towards you.

Snaps for exclusive colors

Awesome weekend for my record player. It got some new friends to spin, and there is another on the way. One that I have been waiting months for. Yes, it's true - Victory Records has officially pulled an awesome move and put up the Bayside Shudder LP on Blue wax for order in their store. Guess who just ordered their copy? Now I have a copy of the album on red from VC, a copy of the blue from Victory, and I'm just waiting on Hot Topic to announce their color. I'm thinking it'll be green. Wooo for 2/3's of the trifecta of goodness. Along with that bit of deliciousness, I picked up the newest H20 record Nothing To Prove. I had been seeing it every time I went to my local record store for 3 months and I hadn't taken the plunge, but yesterday I couldn't justify not buying it anymore. I open it thinking it is going to be on the 2nd pressing of 1,000 on clear, but it's not, turns out it is one of the 1st pressing on chedder yellow wax. Sounds awesome. I also got one of the Young Widows/Pelican split 7". The 2006 Rise Against album The Sufferer & The Witness also came home. Great vinyl weekend.

Camera Obscura and Bat For Lashes

The past two weeks I have managed to get myself out of the daily grind at work an hour or so early in order to see some really great sets from some non American bands. The first was Camera Obscura at the Glasshouse in Pomona, on the 9th of June, the second was Bat For Lashes on June 16th at the El Ray in LA. Woooo.First show first. Camera Obscura is a band I have known about for a few years, and who I was introduced to by my indie savvy cousin. I missed their last show that he went to in LA at the Troubador, but luckily I was able to make it out to Pomona this time. The great thing about bands playing there is how awesome the Glasshouse is. I have been there a few times before, and I have never had a negative experience. The staff is good, there is a bar in the back that has affordable drinks (none of this $7 dollar water bullshit like at the Grove. ugh), and the space is big enough so that there is a pretty good sized crowd, but small enough that the show still feels intimate. The opening band was a group of newbies from Sacramento, Agent Ribbons (www.myspace.com/agentribbons), who were hilarious and sounded great to boot. It is a group of three chicks wearing Strawberry Shortcake inspired outfits, singing songs about going the circus, and using a chello instead of a bass. Which is awesome.

Camera Obscura were ah-mazing, playing all the hits, such as "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken", new vinyl single (which I own) and one of my personal favorites "French Navy", and they ended the set with an amazing version of "Razzle Dazzle Rose". Very awesome show. What made the whole night even better was that before we went into the venue, we ate at the little bistro across the street, and who was seated at the table behind us? None other than the members of Camera Obscura themselves.A few days ago I went again with said cousin and some friends to see Pichfork darling Bat For Lashes at the El Ray in Los Angeles. I really wasn't sure what to expect, seeing as how I knew her rep for being somewhat strange, but I was stoked nonetheless. The openers were a local LA band called HECVBA (pronounced HEC-UBA), and honestly, I thought I was going to have a seizure. They were terrible. The singer looked like a really old Jenny Lewis who was writhing around the stage like she was having some sort of epileptic fit. The other guy in the band looked way to into his bass and laptop as he played, and I was so very happy when they were done. Bat For Lashes opened with my favorite track"Glass", which sounds so much better live than it does on the LP. She played latest single "Daniel" twice, the first time stripped down and "acoustic" and the sencond time as the closing song to the encore with the full band behind her. I was really impressed with how cool of a demeanor she had onstage. She seemed to breally just be having fun, enjoying her time making music. One point of interest that I noticed immediately - her voice sounds pristine live. No really. It sounds studio quality. That is the mark of ture talent, someone who has the live chops to go along with studio skills.

It is also worth a mention that my mother came with me to both of these shows. Yeah thats right, be jealous. My mom is rad.

Two weeks, two great shows, and next week Warped Tour to looke forward too. Snaps for summer tours.

Solid Gold.

Has anyone else noticed that Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" might be one of the best songs ever?

I think so.

Bitch time.

As of the past year and a half, there has been a blight running rampant across the music world. The name of this monstrosity is brokenCYDE.
Yes, my capitalization is correct. That is how the stupid motherfuckers spell their name. If the bad grammer is no indication, please keep reading.

BrokenCYDE (or as the abbrivate themselves "BC13" which makes no fucking sense to me) are an abonination on the Earth. Thet classify themselves "CrunkCore". First of all, how does one come up with the idea of the word "crunkcore"? Crunk is terrible, while the "core" suffix is usually used as the suffix for music with hardcore punk influence and origins (metalcore, post-hardcore, emotional hardcore, grindcore, deathcore, etc.). Um, hello? How the fuck is what these little turds are doing hardcore in ANY way? Hardcore is about respect, honoring others, and staying true to your beliefs. To help show my arguement that the word core should not be used by BrokenSHIT, here are some quotes from their "lyrics".

"I walk into the club looking kind of sexy now.
I see these shorties in the corner, they started making out."
- "FreaXXX"

First of all, obviously homeboy here dosen't know the first rule of the angsty 14 year female audience he is talking to. They want self doubt and depression. Not proclaimations of self sexiness. And wtf is a shortie? Just say girl. Or chick. Or bitch. Seriously. When I think of Shorties, I think of short shorts. And clothing is unable to do anything remotely sexual. Come on.

I just tried to listen to their new songs on myspace, and I literally could not do it. It's too terrible for words. This group is a stain on humanity. As I type this, I'm spinning my new copy of The Gaslight Anthem's Sink or Swim. "The Navesink Banks" is playing. It's such a great song that has more meaning and substance than anything BrokenCYDE has done or ever will do. But somehow The Gaslight Anthem have not reached the level of populairty the BrokenCYDE has. We, you and me, as music fans need to do something to change this trend. With the pop-punk explosion of the early 2000's came the oversaturation of the music scene with cookie-cutter bands who all sound the same, and out of that came shit like this. I am going to Warped Tour this year despite BrokenCYDE being a headliner. Bayside (see below post for how much I love them) will be there, but I am so disgusted by Kevin Lyman's selling out of the punk rock summer camp that I almost didn't go. I refuse to condone that action, and I hope to avoid their set like swine flu. I only hope that others will start to see how destructive bands like brokenCYDE are to music before there are a thousand rip offs of them, each worse than the one before it.

Bayside. nomnomnom.

My favorite band on the planet Earth is Bayside (www.myspace.com/bayside). I love Bayside more than any other band ever. I see them every chance I get, I own all of their albums, and am working on getting my vinyl up to speed with them as well. They have only pressed two of their records on wax (2007's The Walking Wounded, my personal favorite and 2008's Shudder of which I have two copies pre-ordered from VC). Finding a copy of The Walking Wounded was a task unto itself - it seemed the only copies avaliable were from secondary parties on eBay who wanted $45.00 and more for a copy. At the time I was looking for this record I was broke and considered myself lucky to be able to pick up a $10 record from a shop nearby. But then, as it usually happens, a friend stepped in and helped me out. This particular friend frequents the same record store I do, and she knew that I had been looking for a reasonable priced copy of this album for months at this point. Long story short, she found a copy of it for $10.

Best day of my vinyl collecting life.

It is pressed on clear, out of 500. 'Tis the apple of my turntable.

Sadly, Victory Records sucks and has not made any known plans to re-release any of their earlier releases on wax (including the 2004 fan favorite Bayside, their self-titled album). Now that Bayside has officially finished out their contract with Victory, maybe another label will pick them and the licensing rights up (c'mon Epitaph!) and get that shizz out on vinyl pronto. As of right now though, the LP version of Shudder is set to street sometime in July (maybe 7/21 but don't quote me on that), and it is avaliable for pre-order on Vinyl Collective, Nerd Alert Records, and some eBay power sellers are already reppin it. Another rumor is that there is a Hot Topic exclusive color in the works, and apparently Victory Records themselves are keeping an exclusive color for their webstore. I'll keep you posted.

DOWNLOAD THESE (legally!): The Walking Wounded (single track or album), Don't Call Me Peanut, A Call to Arms, Masterpiece, Carry On

All the small things...

They (the government, society, people more weathly than I) say that good things come in small packages.

In the world of vinyl, this is troof. Enter the 7".


7" 's are the better version of a single on iTunes, a radio single, and a CD single. 7" records are used to put out rarities of songs that didn't make the album (where do you think the term "B-side" came from?) and sometimes are live cuts of songs. Often times a band will press their new EP's on 7" albums. Pictured above is an example of single version of the 7" format. This is Kevin Devine's latest single "Another Bag of Bones" off of his recently released Brothers Blood album. The B-side to this 7" is a non-album track titled "Love Me I'm a Liberal". Both very good songs. This record is avaliable for purchase through the awesome folks at Vinyl Collective. Check it out.

Here is a photo of my 7" collection so far. I just ordered two more (the Brian Fallon/Chuck Ragen split Travel Hymns and ISHC's HPxHC) so this is an uncomplete set. Enjoy the deliciousness.

swt. vinyl brag

Here it is. I'm in love.