Phred's Blog

The Constitution and the House floor: are you $#*&#ing kidding me?!?!

2011-01-06T22:30:00.005-05:00

So, the first day back to work and what do the members of the lower chamber decide to do? They decide to recite the U.S. Constitution into the Congressional Record. Congratulations! The members of your body now know about as much about the legal machinations of our government as the average middle school civics student!

Grandstanding is certainly nothing new to politics, but this has lowered the bar to Lilliputian levels. I hope some House members realize that all 44 Presidents in this country's history have signed DOZENS of bills into law since the Constitution was ratified in 1787 (except poor William Henry Harrison, of course; the poor guy died only 32 days after his inauguration). To keep up their Constitutional fidelity, I trust the House leadership will immediately begin reading every piece of legislation passed during the George Washington Administration. This is only fair if they want a complete picture of our nation's legislative history.

Reading the Constitution and its 27 Amendments and claiming to have a command of the U.S. body politic is akin to someone claiming to be a master of the Star Wars Trilogy after simply watching the opening sequence of Darth Vader boarding the rebel ship at the beginning of the original movie (Episode IV: A New Hope for those of you keeping score at home).

I have a simple message for the House leadership: go back and hit the books some more. You have two more years before your final exams and you're nowhere near ready.

Gainesville Mayoral Candidate Forum - Who are their comedic doppelgangers?

2010-03-05T09:53:00.008-05:00

As I sat watching last night's mayoral candidate forum on WUFT's North Florida Journal, I noticed the odd similarity of Richard Selwach to Chris Farley, both in appearance and mannerisms. Later while on the pot (where most of us do the heaviest of thinking whether we admit it or not), I realized that you could match each of Gainesville's mayoral candidates to a famous comedian. Here ya go, for entertainment purposes only.

Ozzy Angulo - Carlos Mencia

This political neophyte was very matter-of-fact and represented the working class of Gainesville. While not as boisterous as Mencia, Angulo pled his case in a language that everyone could easily understand. Dee de-dee!

Monica Leadon Cooper - Julie Hagerty

This was a bit of a tough call. You could also go with Lily Tomlin. There are also some elements of Rita Rudner there. But Julie Hagerty as Elaine in Airplane II just kept coming back to me, especially the line "we're also out of coffee" when a passenger asks her if she's telling them everything. Arguably the winner of the forum, Monica was at times an amalgamation of several classic comediennes and she was often hard to peg down.

Craig Lowe - Andy Kaufman

Craig was not what he seemed last night, which described Andy to a T. He was often stumbling over his words as he looked into the teleprompter with a deer-in-the-headlights look. If you've ever spoken with Craig privately, you know his intelligence and passion for certain issues know no rival. Kaufman was the same way: he exuded lovable, feigned ignorance and innocence, but all along you knew he was the smartest person in the room.

Don Marsh - Eugene Levy

A man who speaks in plain language matter-of-factly states his case so emphatically that he believes there is no way that others could have a position more correct than his own - sort of like that friend's father whom you can't convince is wrong. A candidate for those who remember the George W. Bush years with fondness.

Richard Selwach - Chris Farley

From the Javier Bardem-like haircut to his fidgety nature, Richard channelled the late fatman several times last night. See my initial impressions above.

Are these comparisons accurate? You decide for yourself as North Florida Journal repeats several times this weekend and WUFT-TV Channel 5. Check your listings and have a chuckle.

Get a job in the Obama-Biden administration!

2008-11-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know I haven't written about my election night experience yet, but I just wanted to share what I did a short time ago. The incoming administration already has a government domain:

http://www.change.gov

The first time I saw it, I was speechless. Wow. This is the beginning of what could be a new era in transparent government. After exploring the site a bit, I noticed a "jobs" button on the top banner. Five minutes later, I had applied for a job in the incoming Obama Administration. And why not? An administrative position at the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) sounds pretty good to me!

Yes we can...GET EMPLOYED! Try it yourself. You have nothing to lose...

Michelle Obama rocks Gainesville!

2008-10-29T16:02:00.004-04:00

It was a warm October afternoon and thousands of people descended on downtown Gainesville to catch who is certain to be the next First Lady. I headed toward the entrance only to be told that I had to get in one of two lines. I followed one line to its end and finally found it...FIVE BLOCKS LATER. The queue was moving pretty fast, however, and I found myself inside within about 20 minutes. The place was already packed when I made it in. I finally staked out a spot in front of Mr. Sidhu's market. I did wander up as far as Starbucks -- even though volunteers kept telling me that there was room that far up, people were packed in like sardines, so I fell back to my safe spot by Sidhu's.

What followed were a litany of speakers, including our Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, Cynthia Moore Chestnut, Rep. Corrine Brown, and Sen. Bill Nelson. Then, The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" blared through the speakers before Michelle Obama's entrance.

Michelle was, in a word, phenomenal. She got everyone fired up to vote early and told tales of how she and Barack strugged with student loan debt burden and other economic woes that our family also faces. It will surely be great to have someone who understands such things in the White House instead of someone who can't remember how many houses they own.

Perhaps most impressive was a standout statistic: with about 11,000 in attendance at this event, it was the largest crowd Michelle Obama had ever spoken to without her husband.

Special thanks to my co-worker Alena Lawson for the above photo. YES WE WILL!

Our kid loves pizza rolls!

2008-10-15T16:44:00.003-04:00

Last night at dinnertime, Aiden was acting finicky when Michelle was cutting up pizza rolls to give him. I found it hard to believe that our son could not like something so yummy. After waiting for the rolls to cool a bit, I gave him a WHOLE one and he wolfed it down! After about 5 or 6 more rolls, his face looked like this:

Kids: ya gotta love 'em!

Final Obama-McCain debate tonight

2008-10-15T16:34:00.002-04:00

Well, I'll keep this short and sweet. The final presidential debate is tonight on all major TV networks. McCain threatens to bring up Bill Ayers tonight and I hope he's a man of his word. Americans want to hear about what these candidates will do for the economy and the rest of America instead of who knew who when. The Drinking Liberally Gainesville chapter will be meeting at Gators Dockside in the front room tonight at 8:30 to watch for all interested parties. Early voting begins here in Gainesville on Monday. I'll be one of the first in line. Hope to see you there!

Finally, here's what the front of our house looks like now thanks to my co-worker Rachel and the posters she scored from Obama headquarters. After the Obama victory next month, she should receive a personal letter of thanks from Barack himself. Her efforts have been selfless and tireless. Hooray for her! VOTE!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2008-09-23T22:35:00.004-04:00

Today would have been my mother's 77th birthday.

My mom passed away this past April 15th. (Yeah, it was tax day. My parents both chose memorable days to go: my dad passed on New Year's Day 1986.) She was simply the most selfless person I've ever known. Her kindness, caring, and charity knew no bounds. After my father's passing, she simply lived to help others, often to her own detriment. As much as I encouraged her to go out and socialize in order to find new friends, she instead chose to remain home, constantly reinforcing her faith and helping as many charities as she possibly could.

It's been a tough year when I revisit the memories of the last moments we spent together. She was strong and dignified until the very end of her life, though. Her charities of choice were wide and varied: from Native American children to Special Olympics to the Humane Society, my mom supported them all. This is not even to mention her tithing to her favorite ministries of choice, including Frederick Price and Robert Schueller. I know we'll be getting mail addressed to her from these charities and more for years to come. It will make future visits to the mailbox filled with fond memories of her boundless mercy and faith.

Although I most closely relate to the Unitarian Universalists these days, I always admired and respected my mother's faith. It provided her with the basic rules of life that she followed. Those rules ultimately influenced me a great deal through my occupations that require empathy and diplomacy. She was simply the greatest woman I've ever known.

I miss you, Mom. I hope you're enjoying all of the benefits you did without while you walked on this Earth. Happy Birthday.

A PSA you'd never see on the air in the US

2008-09-19T14:06:00.005-04:00

Due to our really uptight nature, this is a humorous, yet, many would argue, risque PSA about STDs that would never be seen on American television. Belgium's got us beat!

The end is just priceless. He's going straight to hell, though. ;-)

Vote the geek ticket!

2008-09-17T16:59:00.002-04:00

For all you BG fans out there:

Tina Fey nails Sarah Palin impersonation...finally!

2008-09-16T22:05:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I was going through my DVR program guide the weekend before last and saw that Tina Fey was going to be the guest host on Saturday Night Live. I anxiously pressed record only to later find that it was a repeat of a show from last season, as evidenced by my frustration on Twitter. Well, the new season actually kicked off LAST Saturday when Palin did a cameo at the beginning of SNL:

Hope you enjoyed it!

Palin appeals to the base, isolates all others

2008-09-04T14:28:00.003-04:00

After staying up last night to watch all of Sarah Palin's speech at the RNC, I have to say she did a more than adequate job. If, of course, you define adequate as throwing red meat to the Republican base. The incessant name-calling continued in St. Paul, with Mitt Romney throwing the word "liberal" around like he was calling out pariahs. Liberal, in general, means "free" or "of liberty." The Republican Party has used it as their homemade curse word to hang around the necks of unsuspecting victims anywhere to the left of Attila the Hun.

Then came Rudy Giuliani, who apparently thinks that being mayor is still the best prerequisite to being president. If that's true, I guess Gainesville mayor Pegeen Hanrahan will be running in 2012. I look forward to it, quite frankly.

Especially rich were other comments from Mike Huckabee. Despite uttering outright lies from the podium (eg, that Sarah Palin received more votes in her mayoral election than Joe Biden got in this run for president), the crowd still roared their approval. This was all irrelevant, though, because Sarah Palin was yet to speak.

Thanks to Giuliani going way over in his speech, Palin's introductory video wasn't even shown. She immediately came out and introduced her family (along with the guy who knocked up her eldest daughter) like they were all worthy of Nobel Prizes or something. She then said that she would be an "advocate in the White House" for all families with developmentally-challenged children (did someone tell her that the vice president doesn't live in the White House?). This was the pandering I was waiting for! The scary thing is that many families like my own will now vote McCain simply because of that statement. Being a one-issue voter is a scary thing. Voting one-issue as the result of an empty promise without researching her other related stances is downright DANGEROUS!

Then it was back to the glorified name-calling, saying that there is no difference between a mayor and community organizer - except that the mayor actually has responsibilities. I think even our own Mayor Hanrahan would agree that community organizing involves such duties as helping others get jobs, stay off drugs, and get proper advocacy for government assistance. Apparently, the new, improved Republican Party doesn't see such humanitarian actions as responsibilities.

We'll see how McCain does at the podium tonight. His speeches are few and far between, so I'm looking forward to him doing more than reading a prewritten, five-minute radio address. Overall, though, Palin delivered an effective bit of oratory last night with nary a stumble.

Even a broke-dick dog has its moment in the sun now and again.

Sarah Palin, meet Harriet Miers

2008-09-03T16:55:00.002-04:00

This is getting more and more unbelievable - almost by the minute. Is there any scandal that this woman doesn't love?

I'm going to take heed of Barack Obama's advice, though. I'm leaving her family out of this, as difficult as that may be. Here's a quote from one of her supporters that really got me:

"The media doesn't understand life
membership in the NRA; they don't
understand getting up at 3 a.m. to
hunt a moose; they don't understand
eating a mooseburger; they don't under-
stand being married to a guy who likes
to snowmobile for fun," explained Rep.
Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican, in
a Politico interview Tuesday. "I am not
surprised that they don't get it. But
Americans get it. A mooseburger means
she is like one of us."

A mooseburger. One of us. Absolutely. Mooseburger is probably not a bad thing, but I don't know how it makes her one of us. I'm not sure who Rep. Putnam is referring to as "us," but I seriously doubt I'm included in that group. She does support the hunting of wolves from helicopters, too. Hell, I do that to whittle away some spare hours in the evenings all the time. Ms. Palin was apparently also a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, which favors Alaska's secession from the United States. Quite the "maverick," right there. Extremist is the more appropriate term.

That's why McCain and Palin make the perfect match. Their consistent extremist (RNC key word: maverick) agenda will only drive more and more wedges between the American people. I think we've had enough of this in the last 8 years. We need health care for all, responsible budgetmaking, building solid relationships with other nations of the world, and other things that the Republican platform is so vehemently against.

McCain now has only a few hours left to make a unilateral change to his ticket. I doubt that will happen, though. It would only make this election more competitive, but whomever is playing the Karl Rove role this time around surely doesn't see it that way. She could always Harriet-Miers her way off the ticket as well, but she's too determined of a person -- damn the consequences. Why else would you name one of your children after the headquarter city of the sports network you aspired to work for? This is McCain's first test at decision-making. How do you think he did in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate? Either way, I'd be lying if I didn't say I am so looking forward to Palin debating Joe Biden. Her speech before the GOP delegates this evening should be a real corker as well.

Last night, President Bush referred to the "angry left" at the RNC Convention. This is a man who should be tried for war crimes once he leaves office. Fred Thompson called Obama "the most liberal, most inexperienced" person to ever run for president. This is a man who had to give himself a round of applause at a rally during the primaries when he ran for president. I hope the American people are smart enough to see through this empty namecalling and see who is really fighting for them when it comes to the issues I mentioned above. They will, eventually; let's just hope it's not too late when they do.

Amy Goodman arrested at RNC

2008-09-01T21:44:00.002-04:00

So, the host of our flagship program here at WGOT was arrested this afternoon in St. Paul:

We'll see if we have a host for our program by tomorrow. At least we know what the top story will be.

----------------------------

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers Unlawfully Arrested At
the RNC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
www.democracynow.org

September 1, 2008

Contact:
Dennis Moynihan
Mike Burke

ST. PAUL, MN—Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested
in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time.
Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested
her. Video of her arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now!
producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel
Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while
they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street
demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime
appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the
press.

Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous
and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are
currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to
call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and
demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These
calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman’s office at
651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press
extension 0).

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns
this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the
freedom of the press and the First Amenmdent rights of these
journalists.

During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement
officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and
excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this
action.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected
journalists in the United States. She has received journalism’s top
honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery
and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a
transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation’s
leading independent news outlet.

Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program
that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the
globe.

McCain's entry in the race for change: he wants it to Palin comparison!

2008-09-01T12:50:00.004-04:00

So, news has just been released that McCain VP choice Sarah Palin has a pregnant 17-year-old daughter. I sure hope she's ready for all of the things that motherhood will bring. I find it hard to believe that some of her hardcore conservative supporters will smile on such things, with her having had sex out of wedlock.

A applaud the Obama campaign's response to this:

"I have said before and I will repeat again: People's families are off limits. And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn't be a topic of our politics."

I guess I'm brought further into this debate since Gov. Palin and I do at least have one thing in common after all: we are both parents of a child with Down syndrome. More than one person has suggested that I should support Palin for this reason alone, even if I don't plan on voting from her and McCain. I have to cry foul on this.

Great strides have been made in research on Down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder. By giving power to McCain, Palin, and their ilk, stem cell research will continue to be opposed, which will continue to inhibit (dare I use the word "retard" in its proper form - with emphasis on the second syllable?) medical advances in this area. That's a future that I don't care to offer to my son, thankyouverymuch.

Overall, yes, I think McCain's choice of Palin as a running mate is a piss poor one at best. At 44, she just got her passport last year. Plus, to add to the intrigue, I figured I'd post the following about her response to a Q&A forum from when she was running for governor:

11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

SP: "Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

Founding fathers? The "under God" portion of the pledge was not added until the 1950s. I'm sorry, but someone who is this much of a neophyte to American civics is not just a poor choice to make for vice president; it's downright DANGEROUS!

I'll have more to opine on this later, for sure. Stay tuned...

Not a bad day for democracy

2008-08-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

"Democracy is coming...to the USA." - Leonard Cohen

Tuesday night was quite the time. Mike Byerly was re-elected with a convincing 54% of the vote. It seems like the majority of the folks in this town still don't want this town steamrolled over in the name of progress. Hooray for that.

Eileen Roy also triumphed big as expected, getting two-thirds of the vote to be re-elected to the school board. Barbara Sharpe was newly-elected as well, beating a pretty well-established encumbent.

Ed Crapo remains our property appriaser. The judge runoff will be between Denise Ferrero (who nearly won outright) and Sherman, although only about 60 votes separated her from Rob Groeb without the early and absentee votes being counted yet (yes, that includes my own, but I voted to Stroman, so that won't make much difference). I'd be surprised if 10,000 people show up for this runoff election, so it will be all about these candidates getting out the vote.

Sadie Darnell will also remain our sheriff for another term. I feel bad for Lonnie Scott, but I'm sure he knew it would be an uphill battle with little chance of success. At least he will remain with us on the streets on Gainesville, where he will also be doing a WORLD of good.

Next up (besides the runoff, of course), the general election in November!

Aiden goes berzerk over pasta!

2008-08-25T21:27:00.002-04:00

My wife took this video on her phone at dinnertime this evening and I just had to share. It's our son showing his adeptness at sign language followed by his true love of pasta. Included is paternal commentary from yours truly. Enjoy!

How I Voted: the Importance of Tuesday's Democratic Primary Election in Alachua County

2008-08-25T15:30:00.006-04:00

As an early voter (I vote at the earliest opportunity afforded to me. always. in person.), I'd like to share the logic behind the way I voted a week ago last Friday. This is an ever-important primary, so I encourage everyone who has not voted by mail or voted early to GET OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

With that out of the way, here's now I voted for each candidate up for election:

COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1: Although this is not the first thing on the ballot, it is first in my mind. I cannot stress the importance of this vote enough. It will be a close race, and the winner will no doubt put a drumming on the Republican trotted forth in the general election. I urge everyone to strongly support the candidacy of encumbent MIKE BYERLY. Mike has long championed the conservation angle on pushing our county forward. He had fought tooth and nail, often alone, against developers and others who would have our county turned into another South Florida, with strip malls and urban blight. You may have recieved a mailer a couple weeks back from his challenger, Rick Bryant, talking about his "plan" for Alachua County. If you'll notice, there are no concrete solutions offered in this mailing about this "plan." I'll tell you what Rick Bryant's plan is: to put the business-owner first, no matter what the cost or the size and impact of their business. Our way of life is at stake here, folks. Please don't mess this one up!

SHERRIFF: This is a tough one. Although I believe encumbent Sadie Darnell has done a satisfactory job in her debut half-term as sheriff, I voted for LONNIE SCOTT this time. I work at the Alachua County Jail on a daily basis, so I see the systematic actions of the prison-industrial complex firsthand. While Darnell has brought down the jail population a bit, the same attitude there still remains. When Scott first announced his candidacy, he talked about how he wanted to be the Andy Griffith figure of Gainesville: someone the citizenry would have no problem saying hello to -- or even to approach about a problem, rather than someone with a gun and a badge that instills intimidation and ultimate authority. That speech was really moving for me. Without trying to sound like Joe Biden, let me say that Lonnie is a great family man with upstanding kids that deserve the utmost respect. Darnell just seems a bit distant to me for some reason - but like I said, it's a bit of a toss-up here.

PROPERTY APPRAISER: First of all, I can't believe that this office even has a challenger. What would cause someone to think, "gee, I think I'll challenge the longtime encumbent for the job of property appraiser!" Maybe there's some money to be made in this job because it's certainly not the most high-profile public service job in the county. Needless to say, I voted for ED CRAPO here again. Personally, I don't think our house has been unfairly assessed for property tax purposes. Plus, Ed seems to have done a more-than-competent job thus far. If you want to read what challenger Alonzo Victor Perkins has to offer, please be my guest.

COUNTY JUDGE: First of all, this is an office that lies near and dear to my heart. I will likely have to hear this person on an almost weekly basis at some point because of my occupation. This judge will initially be in the civil division, but they're certainly subject to be moved over to criminal court in the coming years. Since I don't work with private attorneys, I know very little about most of these candidates, but I cast my vote for RHONDA STROMAN. As the youngest candidate of the four, I believe she'll put a fresh perspective on an occupation often seen as dusty and archaic. Another completely competent person for the job would also be Lorraine Sherman, who has supported many progressive and fair causes in the past. With four candidates here, this will no doubt result in a runoff (boy, I'd love to see the voter turnout for THAT election!). I just hope that one of these two candidates makes the cut. I honestly don't have any strong opinions against any of these candidates. These are the two that I've heard the most positive things about, though. The other two candidates are Denise Ferrero and Rob Groeb.

SCHOOL BOARD: I'll keep this short but sweet: EILEEN ROY over Jeannine Murphey Cawthon in District 2 and BARBARA SHARPE over Janie S. Williams in District 4. Why? First, Eileen Roy has fought the tough fight on our school board for education to be done the right way as opposed to the by-the-numbers, no-child-left-behind bullshit that many of the other members feel comfortable in pushing. Sharpe would likely be a staunch ally of Roy's in this endeavor. Plus, the teachers I know that teach in the county recommend both of these candidates.

Don't take my word as gospel by any means, though. I'm just an average joe that strives to be well-informed on these candidates. I put the campaign websites (or at least their respective pitches from the Gainesville Sun) of each candidate above if you wish to do further research. Either way, PLEASE GET OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Thank you.

Music Reviews for the Satellite in September

2008-08-25T14:04:00.002-04:00

You lucky dawg! By reading this blog, you get a sneak peek at my reviews for the next edition of The Satellite, which won't be out until next week.

FUNKATRON
Funkatron
FunkaRecords

Our hometown groove machine has finally released its debut album after thrilling audiences for some time with its bumping live shows. On this eponymous disc, the party is always on while the musicianship remains in fine form. Although this quintet wears its influences on its sleeve, there are times when the borrowed sounds are uncanny.
“Dance Hippies Dance” grabs the guitar punch from 311’s Tim Mahoney. Likewise, singer Cooper Nolan cops Anthony Kiedis on “That Funky Girl.” Hogtown MC Pra-Spect lends his rhymes to a couple of tunes here, kicking up the b-boy boullabaise. Musically, there’s almost everything but the kitchen sink here (including steel drums!) – just supply the drinks and the crowd and you’re on your way.

EYE ÅLASKA
Yellow & Elephant
Fearless Records

The accompanying press release with this disc describes this band’s musical style as “cinematic rock.” From the tempo and vocals of the opening track, “I Knew You’d Never Fly,” I’d be more pressed to call them “extreme emo.” The big synthesizer sound at the song’s introduction may hint at melodrama, but the vocalist sounds like the dude from that Evanescence song. This EP does have its moments, though. “Roll Right Over” recalls some of Was (Not Was)’s more soulful moments – which was a pleasant surprise. That’s not to say that you’d find these guys out of place at the Warped Tour next summer, though.

Obama: Biden his time

2008-08-23T17:01:00.005-04:00

So, I woke up this morning to the following text message:

"Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!"

It was the pick I would have predicted out of the names being bandered about the past few days. I would've liked to have seen Sen. Jim Webb (VA) get the nod, but Joe's right up there. I'm not gonna lie...I haven't agreed with everything Joe Biden has done over the years, but he'll be an invaluable asset to Barack's campaign. As one pundit put it earlier this week, Biden will "chew up and spit out" any VP candidate McCain will put up for debate against him. Joe's a fiery guy -- almost to the point to being too fiery. He's stuck his foot in his mouth plenty of times (wasn't he the one who said he was amazed at Obama's eloquence and literacy or somesuch thing during the primary season?), but overall, I think he'll be a far bigger asset than liability. Time will only tell, of course.

On to Denver! By the way, my friend WMD (woman of mass discussion) will be doing video blogging here from the DNC Convention this week. Stay tuned.

Obama rallies in Gainesville!

2008-08-22T22:16:00.003-04:00

Alright, folks, as we sit around awaiting Barack Obama's text message about his VP choice, I figured I'd let everyone know about a couple local rallies for Obama coming up here in town:

1. This one I got today via text message: "Come rally for Obama with actor Kal Penn! (Sorry, never heard of him. --fs) Saturday from 6pm-8pm at Univ of FL in Rm 102 of Pugh Hall. Please fwd this msg"

2. Obama-Rama! It's Saturday, Sept. 9th from 10am-noon at Satchel's Pizza/Lightning Salvage. It's mostly stuff for the kiddies, but we'll go for the adult fun. Aiden should have some fun, too.

I hope to see you perhaps at both of these events. I'm not sure about going to event #1 tomorrow, but we'll certainly be at #2 since Satchel's is, like, a 3-minute drive from our place.

Go, gooooooBama!

Cheers,
Fred

On the road - Day 7

2008-08-22T21:54:00.003-04:00

Okay, I know I'm really late in updating this. Again, much happenings. Friday morning, we awoke at the Days Inn and got on the road. We made a pit stop in Burlington, NC for some outlet shopping and we bought a bunch of stuff that is brought to you by the letter "s" (socks, Snapple, shorts, sweats, sunglasses, shirts, and sleepers [for Aiden]). Despite good weather, it was a slow slog through NC, SC, and into GA, mainly because of terrible traffic (hell, I felt like I was on a childhood trip with my parents, we were making such slow progress :-p).

Dusk saw us driving into Atlanta. Michelle suggested that we make a stop at Fellini's Pizza, which is an infamous joint in the Buckhead area that used to employ such notable musicians as Cat Power's Chan Marshall! While there, I spoke briefly with a guy wearing a Boris t-shirt and told him I caught them a couple months back in Gainesville. He explained that his band toured with them a few years back. I would've talked to him further, but the place was jumpin' and he was pretty busy. That's the great thing about Atlanta: so many people into so many kinds of music. The town would be a place I wouldn't rule out moving to in the future, especially if a nice job prospect opened there. (Ya hear me, Weather Channel? CNN?) We had a salad and calzone there, plus got a large pie to go. Great stuff! If you're in the ATL, go check 'em out. You won't be disappointed.

After that, it was a long drive into the evening, which saw us get home sometime around 3am. It was nice to be home, albeit for a mere 12 hours. After that, we were off to Orlando for about 36 hours for the state Down Syndrome Conference, which is always a great learning experience. But like I said, that's all over and it's great to chill back in the 'ville, even with the wind and rain from T.S. Fay. I think I may just thumb my nose at her this evening by checking out a show tonight at The Atlantic. We'll see. I do have to make up my mind soon, though.

See ya on the flipside!

On the Road - Days 5 & 6

2008-08-14T15:14:00.004-04:00

Well, so much has happened in the last couple of days, I don't really know where to begin. We made it up to Washington, PA without incident. We met my wife's friend (also named Michele, but with one "L") just before she got off work at Sears. Did I mention that she's a chatterbox, too? How did all of these women decide who would be talking at any given time, anyway?

After taking Aiden through a stroller ride through the entire mall, I got back just as Michele was getting off work. Somehow, four of us crammed into our car with all of our luggage and went to a nearby mall for dinner. We went to a Red Robin. I had never been to one of these restaurants before but have seen the TV commercials many times and have been intrigued. Pretty good food. Hamburgers are their specialty. (I'm amazed that there's only one location in all of Florida (Ft. Myers). I'm sure it'd be a huge draw in Gainesville.) As much as I wanted a cocktail, I held back since we were on the road. In retrospect, this was clearly the wrong move.

Once we got back to Michele's place, we hung out in her backyard and talked a bit, enjoying the nice evening air. Aiden took a little spill when he tipped over in the plastic garden chair in which he was sitting, but he was no worse for wear except for a few scrapes on one hand. Aiden did need a diaper change before we hit the road and continued on to NYC, though. My wife went to the car to fetch the diaper bag.

Upon her return, she nonchalantly said, "I don't want to alarm anyone, but I'm bleeding." This, coming from someone two months pregnant, is certainly impossible to ignore. (Where's that damn drink I wanted?) Both Michelles went into the house and I remained out back for a few minutes talking with Michele's mother, trying to act unalarmed. I'm sure I was doing a shitty job of this, though.

We then walked back to the house. My wife called her doctor for advice and she told her to go to an OB immediately to be checked out. At this late hour (it was now after dark), the only place an OB would be found would be the emergency room at Washington Regional Hospital, which we promptly visited. Despite a fairly empty waiting room, the wait was still excruciatingly long. The hours clicked by as we watched Olympic coverage on one TV while the audio from another airing an old episode of Letterman with Neil Young as a guest blared from over my shoulder.

I finally asked if I could go back where my wife was to see what was going on and was allowed admittance. As I approached her room, a nurse suggested to me that a miscarriage was imminent. Not good. I hung out for a few minutes and my wife seemed to be in pretty good spirits. I did head out to see if Michele, who was still back in the waiting room with our very sleepy son, wanted to go back as well. I grabbed Aiden and began going back to the room, but when I turned around, Michele had mysteriously disappeared. Odd. My wife wanted to see her son, though, so I proceeded back to her room. She reminded me that her bag with her purse was under the chair that she was sitting in in the waiting room, so I had to return there to take it out to the car. On the way back, I called our friend Lenny in New York City. Although it was about 1:30am by this time, Lenny was out playing in a pool league. I told him the dire news and that we were probably going to be heading straight home after this development. He said he felt really bad but wasn't sure what he could say. "Just kiss [your wife] Michelle for me and we'll see you soon," was his response. (This was indeed true since he would soon be visiting Gainesville later this fall when the Gators host the Steve Spurrier-led South Carolina Gamecocks in football.)

I found Michele (she had to use the restroom, she said) on the way back in and both of us proceeded back to my wife's room. She informed us that they were going to take her upstairs for an ultrasound. We followed her up there and Michelle and I waited in an empty room next door. The TV here was showing Batman & Robin, an apparently awful movie with Arnold Schwartzenegger playing "The Freeze." I had never seen this movie, but the 5 minutes I saw here were enough to convince me of its sheer suckitude. We switched the TV over to the Olympics and we talked music for a bit. A couple more hours slipped by while Aiden finally became a bit more content as he snoozed under a blanket draped over two armless chairs. Then, assistant Miguel (who was a former co-worker of Michele's at Sears) came over to tell us that everything was finished.

We met my wife in the hallway, who was holding a collection of 3 ultrasound images. It looked like the little bitty one was just fine after all! It was still about a size of a jumbo peanut and they were able to tell her that she was exactly 8 weeks and 4 days along. With that news, we were finally able to hit the road. NYC was still off the table. We're headed home!

Michele called her mother so she could come by and show us the way back to I-79 South (and for which I'm certainly thankful!). By the time we left the hospital, it was well after 4am. I continued to drive and we got an early morning meal at a 24-hour McDonald's in Morgantown, WV. (Thank heavens for college towns!) The food revived me a bit, so I continued to drive a bit longer (I insisted on driving the entire way home while Michelle rested.), but fatigue got the best of me and we all napped out for a couple hours at a rest stop.

We woke up and it was after dawn. After restroom trips to refresh ourselves, it was back on the road. Since we missed out on the scenic route up US 33 before, we decided to take this way now. A pretty ride with the exception on the scamming bastards at Seneca Caverns. These people had billboards up all over the road advertising a restaurant with great mountain views. We even had to drive over 3 miles off US 33 to get there. After all that, the place was closed and had been since January. All this to lure people to sift though running water for "precious gemstones" and take tours of their "caverns" that require a hardhat to be worn. At least the giftshop lady was nice enough to give us directions to the next closest restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice breakfast.

After that, it was back on the road, rolling through Richmond and down near North Carolina. After being up almost all though the night before, all I wanted was dinner and a long-ass sleep in a king size bed. We saw a Budget Inn near McKenney, NC, but this was one of the most worn-down squattervilles we've ever seen in our lives. Truly frightening. We pressed on.

Finally, in South Hill, we found a Day's Inn with all the amenities. We stopped there at 6pm. King bed. Pool (Aiden and I tried it. Not heated. Frigid.). Denny's on premises for breakfast. We had dinner at a nearby buffet. Good stuff. Sleep. 'nuff said.

On the Road - Day Four

2008-08-12T13:01:00.001-04:00

There’s something I forgot to mention so far on this trip. I’ve decided that North Florida has some of the shittiest summer weather on the planet. This is not an exaggeration. Since we’ve been up here in the Appalachian Mountains, the highs have generally been in the mid- to upper-70s (F) and the lows have gotten down as low as 50 (F)!!!

Yesterday saw us hanging with Michelle’s college friend Jamie and her family just outside of Lynchburg. Her eldest son is autistic and is prone to pretty violent seizures. As she said, it takes a strong and responsible parent to take care of a disabled child. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, it kind of makes Aiden’s Down Syndrome seem to pale in significance in terms of the sheer maintenance involved. Her son has to wear a helmet to shield his head when seizures throw him violently to the floor and has to be hand-fed every meal. He still wears diapers even though he’s almost 14 years old. This, in my opinion, is parental dedication at its highest level.

Another thing I must mention is that Jamie is an even bigger chatterbox than my wife, which I didn’t think was possible. They would talk nonstop throughout the morning and afternoon, as well as the night before. Many times I thought of blurting out something absurd like, “Look, there’s an elephant in the driveway!” just to see if they would even take notice. This was fine, though, because I can always go for a walk through the woods and look for rocks for Nancy with this fine summer weather up here.

Last night, we hit the road around 7pm out of Rustburg, VA. After about 2 ½ hours into our trip, my wife reminded me that we would have to stay in a motel once we reach Pennsylvania. After wondering why we didn’t discuss this further, I mentioned that it would probably be best to find a motel as soon as possible and get a good night’s sleep. We can then hit the road in the morning, refreshed, and see some great mountain views. The alternative would have been to drive all night, reach PA when the motels aren’t available (it would be between checkout and check-in times) in a sleepless state and have to wait around with our thumbs up our cracks until my wife’s friend gets off work that afternoon. The first option sounded far better than the latter, so we stopped at a Microtel in Beckley, WV. Yes, this is about 10 miles or so from my sister’s place in Fayetteville, but I know she goes to bed with the chickens and I wouldn’t want to bother her around midnight to ask if she could put us up again.

We had a room with a handicapped, roll-in shower which absolutely terrorized our son when it came to bath, er, shower time. Other than that, we had a nice restful sleep and a free continental breakfast in the morning. Here’s to carbs! Pennsylvania here we come...

On the Road - Days 2 and 3

2008-08-11T09:29:00.002-04:00

Well, we had connection issues in West Virginia (surprise!), so I was not able to update as much as originally thought. We were roaming in most of WV, so I didn't want to rack up a huge phone bill while blogging. Not a good idea.

Anyway, West Virginia was great. I was able to stay with both my sisters Lynne and Kaye and got to caught up with family stuff. I did contribute to the roadkill popultion of Virginia on the way up as I hit something resembling a groundhog on I-81. I aimed it between my front wheels, but unfortunately it kept moving and it clipped my rear tire. Oh well. It's probably been eaten in stew by now.

We had some great barbeque in Glen Jean thanks to my brother in-law John. He LOVES to cook. We then went onward to Fayetteville and stayed with my sister Kaye. Although this is whitewater rafting central in WV. Our eastern US tour is taking us to so many places that we were unable to take it in.

Now, after some traveling on some pretty narrow roads, we're not just south of Lynchburg, VA staying with Michelle's friend Jamie. Big thanks to the Mackey family for allowing us to connect and do this type of stuff. On the docket later today, a long, scenic drive through US Route 33 through the most mountainous part of WV on our way to visiting another of Michelle's friends in Washington, PA. Yes, Lenny, we're headed up your way to NYC after this stop. See ya soon!

On the road - Day One

2008-08-08T09:05:00.002-04:00

Good morning, all!

Right now, I'm blogging as we are rolling up I-85 headed towards Greenville, SC. We just finished breakfast at one of the countless Cracker Barrels scattered up and down the US Interstate Highway System, and now we're back on the road!

Other than hitting Atlanta at the beginning of rush hour (about 6:30am), it's been a pretty uneventful trip. Getting in a two-hour power nap before we hit the road at 1am really helped out a lot. Michelle is suggesting we take an alternate route through the mountains that will allow us to see a lot of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This will certainly be a more scenic drive that our usual path that we take through Charlotte. Instead, we'll be seeing Ashville, NC, which neither of us had been through in YEARS! If we see John Edwards, we'll offer to give him a cheap haircut and certainly send our regards. Hopefully he will be our next Attorney General.

Well, I'm off to check some email and perhaps get a nap in since I've been driving most of the night. We should arrive in Glen Jean, WV to meet up with my sister and her family for a BBQ later today. Good times. See ya soon!

A chicken in every pot...

2008-08-07T21:51:00.002-04:00

For those that don't know, I was trying to raise chickens over the last couple months. We bought four chicks at the Waldo Flea Market when they were just a few days old. One died after having a strange thing with its legs that made it unable to walk, another mysteriously died while we were out of town on the Fourth of July weekend, and the final two disappeared out of their coop in the middle of the night early last week.

Needless to say, I've had it with raising chickens from birth. Our fortunes took a strange turn this afternoon right before we left for vacation, however. My wife Michelle called me when she was on her way home from work. She was right down the street, but wanted to let me know that there was a "rooster" running wild in front of someone's house down the street. I thought this pretty bizarre since there are no roosters allowed in city limits (only two hens per household). After she got home, she looked out the front door and noticed the bird was just one house down across the street. After making dinner, I decided to go have a look myself. By then, the chicken was at the house right across from us...and it wasn't a "rooster." This was a fully-grown, light brown hen. I tried to lead it across the street to our house initially with little luck. Then, I grabbed a long board that GRU had used as a concrete form when they had to dig in our driveway. This gave me enough leverage to scare the hen across into our yard. After chasing the bird briefly into our crazy neighbor's yard, I was finally able to get the hen into our backyard, where we have chicken feed, water, and a coop! I guided ol' Henrietta over to the feed and she promptly began pigging out. That should keep her! Once a chicken knows where there's food and water, it rarely leaves.

The only problem was later this evening when I went to find out where it was roosting. It was nowhere to be found. I think perhaps that it might have found a well-hidden place, maybe within the thick air potato vines along our back fence. Either way, I asked Pete to see if he sees any signs of her this weekend. We'll see if we still have this hen when we get home in 10 days. Interesting developments indeed.

Blogging on the Road - Begins tonight!

2008-08-07T15:47:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

We're getting ready to head out on vacation in several hours. Our travels will take us to southern West Virginia, western Virginia, New York City, and perhaps Washington, PA and Silver Spring, MD. Our trip will wrap up next weekend in Orlando at the Florida Down Syndrome Conference. I'm going to try to blog as much of our experience as possible.

Tonight, after a power nap, we head to southern WV, where we will visit with family this weekend. I hear a BBQ is planned tomorrow, so that should be fun. A few days later, following a stop to visit my wife's friend in Lynchburg, VA, we'll most likely be heading up to NYC to visit with Lenny, Dave, Jason, Chez, Kelsey, Randie, and the rest of my crazy friends. I'll also try to update things more frequently via Twitter as well.

Like Jack Kerouac, we're ON THE ROAD! See you there...

Thanks to all for a fine time Saturday!

2008-08-04T11:49:00.002-04:00

Despite the rain, we had a great party last Saturday. Special thanks for Kamau for throwing down the quality tunes all afternoon; Pete, Nancy, Atlantia, and Kai (PNAK) for bringing the extra food and acoutrements; Mark for making a RARE appearance; Sharon for the food and conversation; Amy for the awesome jalapeno cornbread and good vibes; our neighbor Kim for being the sassiest crafter in the group; and of course my wife Michelle for keeping a handle on everything. You all rock! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE! We gotta do this again in November...

Bridget and Timmy took a break last night at Satchel's

2008-08-01T13:39:00.002-04:00

The workhorses of the local music scene laid everything down for a few moments. This is certainly a first. Discuss.

Tonight on Stripped - The Anti-Gay Petition's deadline approaches

2008-07-28T12:15:00.002-04:00

Cain Davis and the folks trying to repeal Gainesville's transgender ordinance have until tomorrow to submit 5,000 VALID petitions to the elections office in order to get their repeal on the Spring ballot. We'll talk about this tonight, as well as revisit my comments from a few months back on the issue. Also, we'll be replaying the entire Barack Obama speech from Berlin. All that and more tonight on Stripped, heard only on WGOT 94.7FM, Gainesville Community Radio, a broacast service of the Civic Media Center.

Floored by Peter Gabriel

2008-07-26T21:32:00.006-04:00

For those that haven't heard, my mother passed away after a bad fall in her home in California back in April. During an intense conversation with Vince, a jovial Anglican Irishman who works as chaplain at Eisenhower Medical Center, I was told that there would be times where music may trigger memories that would cause grieving emotions to overcome me and that this was perfectly natural. I listened, but took this advice somewhat in stride since I've worked in the music and radio business for a long time and listen to music almost constantly. I figured there would be quite a bit of desensitization at work as a result.

That changed drastically this morning. I was up early feeding our early-rising, 20-month-old son Aiden and had the classic rock station on the kitchen radio. Suddenly, this song began playing (I'm including these lyrics for proper context):

-------------------

Solsbury Hill (Lyrics by Peter Gabriel)

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night

He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
I had to listen had no choice

I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart was going boom boom, boom
Son, he said, grab your things, Ive come to take you home.

To keeping silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut

So I went from day to day
Tho my life was in a rut
till I thought of what Id say
Which connection I should cut

I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, he said, grab your things, Ive come to take you home.
Yeah back home

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free

Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes, but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me

Today I don't need a replacement
Ill tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, I said, you can keep my things, they've come to take me home.

-----------------

Upon hearing the lyric "grab your things I've come to take you home," I was hit by emotion like a ton of bricks. It took two songs after this one before I re-composed myself. Oddly enough, I was first introduced to this song by a cover version performed by Sarah McLachlan, which was the artist that introduced me to my wife due to us both being on an online e-mail list dedicated to McLachlan (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy or FTE). I'd heard a lot of Gabriel's solo stuff long before discovering McLachlan, but her live version of "Solsbury Hill" is simply stunning. (I'm still a big fan of Sarah's cover songs. She's a great interpreter of other people's work -- often more so than her own.) Isn't it funny how things can be so inter-related?

I guess it takes a pretty honest man to admit a song made him cry like a baby. This song certainly did this to me. I feel it was a very positive thing, though -- a natural part of the grieving process. It helped me realize that God (or whatever you may refer to Him as) told her to grab her things as she was taken "home." I still miss my mother terribly every day, but moments like this help bring clarity to the "big picture."

All I can say in conclusion is that if that radio station followed that song up with R.E.M.'s "Belong," I'd still be stuck to the kitchen floor this evening.

"Shocking" marble photos

2008-07-24T13:46:00.002-04:00

Big up to Pete for giving me some link props. Here's back atcha. Check out the cool picture on his site. It's actually a marble taken while it sits on the lens of a camera phone. Intense!

I'm getting ready to DJ a wedding out at a horse farm in Hawthorne this evening, otherwise I'd write more. Until next time...

The History of Drum N Bass - TONIGHT!

2008-07-21T15:47:00.002-04:00

Tonight on Stripped, the history of Drum And Bass Music explained by Nate Harrison. Only on WGOT-LP, Gainesville Community Radio at 94.7fm, Gainesville, FL.

Incessant rain and pricey gas: welcome to summer in Gainesville!

2008-07-15T16:14:00.006-04:00

Well, thankfully, Barack Obama was not the next Howard Dean. We got back from a roadtrip on the 4th of July weekend up to the in-laws' place in southern Indiana. This was the first time being on the road after an unexpected trip to California to witness my mother's death, so I was really looking forward to this. One thing we immediately noticed this time was a distinct lack of cars on the road. When are people going to get pissed off enough to get off their asses and protest? I've done plenty of it the past 7+ years and I'm tired. Not even the people I most closely know participate in picketing actions. Oh well, guess we've made our bed...

Speaking of which, I received an interesting email from a relative yesterday that supposedly contained an essay from Lee Iacocca, the former CEO of Chrysler. As I writer, my BS detector went off shortly after reading it when the tone of the essay suddenly changed. I wish I still had the email so I could paste it below and you can see how quickly the tone changed, but as soon I found out it was a fake, I angrily deleted it, so alas it is gone. After correctly reproducing the essay, it suddenly takes a turn to the right, bashing a "liberal senator" who is running for president. Un-effing-believable! It did give me the idea to read the REAL essay on the air last night on my radio show, though. If you're interested in Mr. Iacocca's REAL deal, click here.

The rain is continuing to fall on an almost daily basis. Don't get me wrong -- I refuse to complain since it's better than the alternative, but it sure makes things hard to get a barbeque started. We have ribs in the fridge that can wait until this weekend at the latest. Hopefully they can be cooked much sooner than that.

Barack Obama: the next Howard Dean

2008-04-30T14:56:00.007-04:00

Many may wonder why I still denounce and condemn (by the way, Hillary, that's 100%, by the way!) the mainstream media. I'm personally very proud to be involved with grassroots local media such as WGOT and The Satellite magazine. What the mainstream media have become is completely shameful!

This past Monday, Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave a press conference before the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Why he chose this past week to surface at events like this one or on PBS with Bill Moyers is certainly debatable, but I can't see where he necessarily gave any revelations that we may not have known already.

The mainstream media certainly doesn't see it this way. After Monday's proceedings by Rev. Wright, they suddenly proclaimed that Wright was "throwing Obama under the bus" without as much as an explanation why. I immediately recalled the evening of the Iowa caucus four years ago, when Howard Dean rallied his troops with Senator Tom Harkin in tow. Although John Kerry won that evening, Dean vowed to fight on, rattling off a littany of states that had upcoming primaries or caucuses. Then it came: the "scream." The recording that was aired by the media a thousand times was from his isolated microphone without a hint of crowd noise. The truth was that that rally was so loud that you could barely hear yourself think. When you're trying to talk over such a mob, you sometimes overcompensate by screaming. What should have simply been an enthusiastic "yeah!" after naming out many of our states instead became Dean's albatross, constantly being thrown back in his face for no logical reason. "Oh, he's a screamer. That makes him totally unelectable!"

Right.

Jeremiah Wright is quickly becoming Barack Obama's albatross. After floating countless other balloons such as his choice, or lack thereof, of lapel pins, his childhood in the largest Muslim country in the world (Indonesia), or his audacity of not putting his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance (Although the picture in question was during the Star Spangled Banner - don't try to confuse the American public with the facts! Just tell us when American Idol's on.), the media and other so-called "objective" parties in this primary race have finally found a story into which they can sink their teeth. Even Keith Olbermann, whose opinion I normally respect, has even jumped on this bandwagon.

I'm not even going to delve into how transparent this media move is to me. Just let me say that I told you so. When we're stuck in an endless hundred-year war in Iraq, staring $200-a-barrel gas straight in the face, and bearing witness to widespread food, energy, and financial crises that we can only begin to imagine, don't come crying to me!

If the media has their way, all of these "committed" and superdelegates will now go running to Hillary Clinton to give her the nomination. If you don't think this is the Republican National Committee's wet dream, think again. Only someone as divisive as Hillary Clinton will turn out the Republican base in droves in this election. It's true that this is the Democrat's election to lose this time, but thanks to the mainstream media, they're well on their way to blowing things on a grand scale.

So, keep up the Jeremiah Wright witch hunt, CNN. Keep on expounding on how irresponsible Barack Obama is by having such a pastor, MSNBC. You're doing nothing but sending this country to the wolves.

I'm SO looking forward to taking out a second mortgage every time I fill up my gas tank. Thanks a million!

R.I.P. to The Buzz

2008-03-10T21:43:00.004-04:00

Well, this past week has confirmed that the once adventurous playlist at 100.5 The Buzz here in Gainesville is no more. They're now playing such artists as Metallica, Alice in Chains, and Fuel - the very bands that they used to make fun of Rock 104 for playing. As I said on my radio show (Stripped, on 94.7fm WGOT every Monday night at 9pm) this evening, I know the smell of a radio consultant all too well.

This was certainly the work of a radio consultant. The airwaves undulate with the trademark foul stench every time I set my tuner to 100.5fm. Oh well - it was fun while it lasted. We'll still have the great memories of listening to Leigh Scott playing stuff by Rilo Kiley and Husker Du. Or of Mojo and Spanish in the morning rocking the Rage Against the Machine and Reverend Horton Heat.

The more that beloved radio formats go by the wayside, the more it comes apparent that our American Idol-loving asses never deserved it in the first place.

As a result of this formatic death, increased burden now rests on those of us in community radio. You can give us the resources to keep the movement alive. We hope to see you at WGOT's benefit concert on St. Paddy's Day (Monday, March 17th) at Club 1982 downtown.

Indie rock is dead. Long live indie rock!

Human hatred on display in Gainesville

2008-02-03T23:48:00.000-05:00

This past Monday saw a debate before the Gainesville City Commission on the subject of “gender identity,” or the ability to add transgendered individuals to the list of those not to be unfairly discriminated against. It was a scary look into the institutionalized and politically acceptable bigotry that still passes as the norm in this country. Through an ordinance, those who had gender identity will now be protected from such institutionalized discrimination thanks to a 4-3 vote by the commission last Monday evening.

Such a vote did not come lightly. One after another, supposed men and women of God approached the podium during public comment, denouncing the passage of this legislation. Pastors and reverends alike repeatedly equated the condition of transgender to those that engage in pedophilia, incest, bestiality, and other despicable acts. Others insisted that the passage of this legislation would be a one-way ticket to Sodom and Gomorrah. Some stated that they were taught in school that they were a man or a woman and that was that.

Excuse me, but who the hell are you to apply your personal experience to the arc of existence of everyone else on this mortal coil?

Before the commission, there was much talk of inconveniencing “us” and giving “special treatment” to certain individuals in society. Apparently, this “us” they speak of consists of people intolerant of others and their situations - the very same people that consider the act of giving transgenders the same rights as others as “special treatment.”

Given, at least some of you were more honest than others last Monday night. One woman talked of straight people being brought “down to their moral standards.” Which way does your moral compass point, anyway? Do you not think that transgenders are capable of morality? Imagine someone of questionable gender identity being able to go into the restroom of the gender they most identify with on their own volition. Gender identity with a moral compass? Truly shocking stuff!

Equally disappointing was the overwhelming commentary from members of the African-American community, who quoted various passages of scripture in an effort to prove that commissioners who voted for this ordinance would be condemned to hell. Commissioner Henry was even informed that he was no longer “a man of God” due to his previous, nonbinding vote on the subject. To watch fear of the unknown manifest itself as fire and brimstone pronouncements from the bully pulpit was truly the frightening part of these proceedings. One speaker even went as far as to say that God would bring his wrath down on all of those with questionable gender identity. This isn’t 1930s Germany, folks – it’s Twenty-First Century Gainesville!

And as for bible verses and scripture, let me remind you of one myself: it’s Matthew, Chapter 17, Verse 1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Luke Chapter 6, Verse 37 goes a little deeper: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” It continues in the book of Luke, Chaper 14, Verses 10 and 13: “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we all stand before God’s judgment seat. … Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” Most of the religious speakers last Monday evening conveniently forgot these passages. Some way to treat your “brothers” and “sisters!”

Some of these same people said that they were justified in condemning this commission because they were the ones that elected them. Churchgoers are the ones that voted these commissioners into office? Are they the ones who gave Jack Donovan 70% of the popular vote the very next day at the city commission election? Somehow, I think not. Commissioner Donovan remains an ordained minister, despite the wicked and outrageous pronouncements you sent in his direction.

Also, I never had any idea that people of allegedly high religious conviction had such an obsession with bathrooms and genitalia. The last time I checked, public bathrooms still have stalls. If you’re so obsessed with what types of organs people have between their legs when you’re in a public restroom, you may want to seek a mental health evaluation. Many of the speakers expressed concern for their children being exposed to transgendered individuals in public restrooms. How about having talks about such things with your children and explaining to them what those with unsure gender identity go through on a daily basis? I know – it’s just a little too much to ask for by today’s parenting standards.

Talk such as this makes me surprised this wasn’t some sort of twisted bathroom ordinance. But no – this was a matter of extending equal rights to an unprotected segment of the population. What about matters such as housing and credit protection? These were only mentioned sparingly, if at all. And then there were the so-called “businessmen,” who felt threatened by this new legislation, saying that it would severely cripple their day-to-day operations. Despite repeating this mantra, these businessmen failed to give even a single example of how such crippling would occur – which brings us to one of the major cruxes of this situation: how many transgendered citizens actually reside in Gainesville? You’d think it was some massively growing cult from the words of many speakers that evening. Hell, if people concentrated on burning issues such as health care and social security as much as they did about transgenders last Monday, this would be one helluva place – almost a utopian-type society.

As Sierra Club president Rob Brinkman noted in his public comments, there is an already-high suicide rate among the transgendered. Surely threats of violence and other forms of intimidation couldn’t possibly be the cause of this. And, of course, extending equal rights to such people would be taking away the privacy of normal, heterosexual, law-abiding citizens. Give me a break!

Throughout its history, Gainesville has been a city that has prided itself on doing the right thing, even in the face of a small, vocal minority that has been persuaded to speak with the threat of excommunication or worse by their faith or religious organization. Those that have done the right thing instead of bowing to the pressure of a vocal minority deserve our tremendous respect and gratitude. I would like to personally thank Mayor Hanrahan and commissioners Donovan, Lowe, and Mastrodicasa for standing vigilant over the rights of all of Gainesville’s citizens.

And, as for those that think the addition of gender identity to the list of those who enjoy the protection from discrimination is wrong, just keep in mind that Interstate 75 runs both north and south from here. Pick an exit – that is, if you really know where you’re going…

New Order: the Pink Floyd of the 21st Century?

2007-12-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

So what the hell's the deal with New Order? Now that they're getting some film love with an Anton Corbijn biopic about the history of Joy Division, Peter Hook's declaring New Order as kaput. What is it with bassists and their big heads, anyway? Given, Hooky's bass is the absolute driving force behind their sound (I'm now sure of this after seeing them live at Coachella a couple years back - amazing!), but how can one member unilaterally declare a band splitsville when the other members clearly want to keep carrying on.

Although Gillian Gilbert is on indefinite hiatus from the band, I'd love to hear her take on the whole thing. We know Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris are all about carrying on, but if it was 3-to-1 against, it would be a helluva mandate - similar to that other British band that went through a similar scenario in the late 80s: Pink Floyd. Roger Waters' contribution to them was mainly in the songwriting realm (I think his bass-playing is unremarkable at best - sorry), Hooky's bass is used as a melodic instrument in New Order, bringing an analog heart to an otherwise electronic body of work. Conversely, Waters' bass parts were easily covered by hired guns on the Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell tours.

So what's the real dilly, yo? Anybody have some inside info? Inquiring minds want to know...

The Fest 6 rocks Gainesville

2007-11-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's the damnedest thing with The Fest. Immediately afterwards comes Halloween and then our son Aiden's birthday (in this case, his first!). Either way, now that it's been over a week later, let me begin to piece together the experience this year.

After regrettably missing the first evening, including what I heard were outstanding performances by Radon and Naked Raygun, we finally made it out early Saturday afternoon. First of all, I must say that the folks at the 2nd Street Bakery did an OUTSTANDING job hosting the fest for the first time this year. In their two days, they hosted such various bands as The Ones to Blame, This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, and Saw Wheel. The later, two dudes from Virginia, had some great, gruffy folk songs about the rough life. Others such as Austin Lucas and the Pressmen, a band of Europeans fronted by a transplanted Hooser by way of Texas, got the crowd fired up with a rousing set of kicking tunes.

Although I missed the Ones to Blame, who were headlining at the Bakery that day, it was for good reason. I was off to Common Grounds (on foot, I might add!) to catch former local band Fay Wray, whose reunited lineup included stalwart Addison Burns on drums, in addition to regulars Rob Coe, Jeff London, and Replay Dave. The bespectacled London got into character quickly as many from the crowd came up onstage to join in singing the choruses to many of the band's faves. Overall, a great time. I promise I'll catch The Ones to Blame again soon at one of their many Hogtown shows. Promise. Oh yeah...and many thanks to Pete & Nanc for shuttling my wife's keys to her after we realized that I shlepped more than halfway to common grounds without giving Michelle or Aiden the keys to get home. Oooops. It would almost be excusable if I were drinking, but the Bakery did not serve any alcohol the entire weekend, alas.

With the Fest selling out of their wristband allotment several days before the event, I went to far fewer shows than I would have otherwise, but I spent way less money so it all worked out in the end. Sunday was great, too, with overcast and cool weather greeting us at the Bakery. There, we saw a great variety of indie rock. Ghost Mice started things off on a quiet note since none of their instuments were amplified. We had to strain to hear anything from our position near the back of the crowd. After that, the jams were kicked outward with full-on rock n roll from Defiance, Ohio and This Bike is a Pipe Bomb. Matt & Kim closed out the afternoon with their quirky, awesome tunes. Their music, while indescribable, is that which literally makes it impossible to take the smile off your case. In short, they're an instantly lovable duo! Check 'em out if you haven't already.

Finally, as Pete & Nanc watched Aiden sleep quietly, we headed off for the nightcap at The Venue, catching Sir Prize Fighter and the reunited Seaweed. The latter act I hadn't seen in about 15 years, the last time being one year at CMJ at The Academy in New York City. They even did their famous cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." Afterwards, we were lucky enough to run across the street and catch our friends in Frozen Cobra as they closed out their set with a rocking version of "Pure" by the Lightning Seeds. It was then last call. We had to get the fuck out. It was a marathon weekend as always, but most wouldn't have it any other way. We'll see you again next year for Fest lucky number 7!!!

Slainte mhath.

Fest V Flashback: Day 3

2007-10-26T12:48:00.000-04:00

Let's close out last year's Fest with a bang
and get ready for this year's gala! ENJOY!

---------------------------------------------

The Fest goes country on its final day

The Ones to Blame get down at Common Grounds. _________________ Fred Sowder/Theundertone.org

Saying goodbye to Gainesville for yet another year, the Fest V ended on a decidedly country note Sunday. During the mid-afternoon, while people were in the middle of early voting and candidate forums, the Downtown Community Plaza had some of the free acts of the weekend, including Rob McGregor’s project The Damn Wrights. McGregor, who’s produced more local CDs than most people own, performed a selection of country-folk tunes backed by a crack female band featuring members of The Ones to Blame. The weather was great – a big change from the world-ending torrents that hailed down Friday evening.

Continue to 2nd paragraph After enjoying the sun for a bit, it was off to The Atlantic to catch a relatively unknown band with an intriguing name, Affirmative Action Jackson. The North Main Street club, already packed to the gills due to its early Sunday schedule, was buzzing with a rambunctious crowd as the vocalist railed against things like Sparks and Republicans between quick bursts of punk. The band, which calls Philly home, typified the rest of The Atlantic’s Sunday hardcore bill, which also included fellow Philadelphians Paint It Black, among others.

Common Grounds was next on the itinerary with some early shows by Glossary and Two Cow Garage, two bands hailing from other prominent college towns. Murphreesboro, Tennessee’s Glossary kicked up some honky tonk blues featuring dual singers that hocked CDs and fruit from the stage between songs. Two Cow Garage, from Columbus, Ohio, debated whether or not they were a country band between their corn-fed rock tunes.

Between these two bands, I decided to take a brief stroll over to Club Red to complete my cycle of all The Fest venues for the weekend. Ceramic Cats on first featuring atmospheric compositions sung by Beat Buttons vocalist Alex Lopez. The band sat around onstage as if at a hippie commune, playing laptop rock for the couple dozen in attendance. Many were waiting for the Buttons later appearance at the venue.

After almost crashing an Oriental wedding at The Sun Center on my way back to Common Grounds, I decided to keep my wandering to a minimum the rest of the evening. Although the peak crowds had long since dissipated, my lockout from Common Grounds last night stuck in my mind and I really didn’t want to miss their evening lineup this time.

The always-entertaining Ones to Blame took to the stage, singing tunes of woe and its subsequent alcoholism. Budweisers, Jagermeisters, and other assorted beverages came into play, but no $3.99 wine, unfortunately. The quintet of gals kept things lively nonetheless, with a couple of members sporting their newly pierced noses. The crowd began to reach its peak as the banjo and mandolin cranked out their country party tunes.

Bassist Jackie at one point staked The Ones to Blame’s claim as a “drinking band.” Saying this just before Whiskey & Co. took the stage was like Russell Crowe saying that he can put some away while standing next to Mel Gibson.

The crowd was certainly near capacity when Whiskey & Co. took the stage. Drinking anthems like “Nightlife” got the crowd warmed up with many a drink and beer glass hoisted into the air. Kim Helm and Brian Johnson traded verses with relish as the crowd swelled to an impressive size. Let’s hope that more talk of these “final show” rumors is just that.

Former Hot Water Music singer-songwriter Chuck Ragan then took to the stage with his guitar and harmonica. Looking very much the part of a punk rock troubadour in the Dashboard Confessional vein, Ragan kept the crowd’s attention with his set of earnest, rootsy blues tunes. Ragan, who now calls California home, seemed happy to be back among many of his friends and most loyal fans. Mid-set, Ragan sent out a song to his former HWM bandmates who were off touring Europe under The Draft moniker. By the end of his abbreviated show, he had accompaniment in the form of violinist John Gott. Ragan brought things to an emotional conclusion with a sing-along version of the HWM classic “Eating the Filler.”

The Fest wouldn’t be complete without the bands that make Gainesville the thriving punk scene that it is. That said, Billy Reese Peters were putting on a late-Sunday set a block away at The Side Bar. The Fest wouldn’t be complete without at least a peek at their set. A packed house awaited me at the venue once again, much like last evening. Inside, BRP were having a grand time. The band, shirtless except for the eternal Dolphins fan and bassist Mike Collins in his favorite Daunte Culpepper shirt, flailed around the stage with abandon. They even launched into a drunken version of “We’re An American Band,” which fit the hysteria level that The Fest had reached by that point in the evening. Despite the infectious nature of the crowd, the oppressive heat and humidity of the small venue drove me back to Common Grounds one last time.

There, Colorado’s Drag the River continued the trend of multi-state representation on the evening, although all members didn’t quite make the trip. The band flew into Gainesville especially for The Fest even though they’ll be back for their own headlining tour in a mere six weeks. Bassist J.J. Nobody’s fear of flying kept him away, forcing guitarist-vocalist Jon Snodgrass to do low-end duties. Vocalist Chad Price, now with beard and looking more and more like director Kevin Smith, blended with Snodgrass on an extended set of lowdown countrified tales. After about three false endings in which the band was goaded into playing yet one more song, The Fest finally came to its exhausting conclusion.

Now, exhausted is how I feel. Throughout the weekend, an image I saw on TV last week stuck in my mind. In a zoo in London, a pelican went up to a pigeon and swallowed it whole! I pictured the whale on The Fest t-shirt logo as the pelican and me as the pigeon on more than a few occasions. I’m just happy to have survived this ever-popular annual musical adventure. After all, this beard’s getting itchy. Where the hell did I put my razor?

© Copyright 2006, The Gainesville Sun

Fest V Flashback: Day 2

2007-10-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

Take a deep breath...here's a run down memory lane from Saturday last year:

The Fest V turns the corner on day two

After a damp but promising start on Friday, The Fest V reached its stride on day two Saturday with a full 13-hour schedule of music. To even begin to comprehend how grueling such a task this is, one must begin the day well nourished. With that, it was off to Common Grounds for some of their barbeque. Upon arrival, the chow line was already quite long – in fact long enough to bail out while my better half held our place in line. Inside Common Grounds, Frozen Cobra were just finishing their set as the first band of the day. Their short-but-sweet set of raucous punk tunes provided an aural bloody mary for those still recovering from the night before, including the band itself.

Continue to 2nd paragraph The barbeque offered both carnivorous and vegetarian options with entrees such as pork sandwiches and barbeque tempeh. After ordering the latter with sides of potato salad and beans along with bottled water, I was informed that the beans were not totally vegetarian. I explained to the server that I wasn’t vegetarian but was instead trying to eat healthy in an effort to last the day. The dish was adequate, but hardly the “ass-load of food” that the schedule promised, unless of course you’re speaking of your typical indie rocker chic diet. Nonetheless, the tempeh provided a quick shot of protein energy to take on this musical juggernaut. My wife enjoyed her pork sandwich, although she thought the meat a bit “lukewarm to cold.” The meal passed for a solid lunch, though, but would have been more suitable at two or three dollars less than the eight bucks charged.

Back inside Common Grounds, Blacksnake were into their early afternoon set. The Gainesville band featured vocalist Rich formerly from Whoreculture as well as other former members of rock vets Grinch, Scorcher, and The Doldrums. Blacksnake flexed their longtime musical chops with a set of top-notch garage rock. The Hold were up shortly thereafter representing Gainesville with metal-inspired tunes in the eighties/early nineties tradition of The Cult and Alice in Chains. It almost gave one the feeling of being at the Button South in South Florida fifteen years ago.

Any lingering feelings of nostalgia soon went out the window with the set from Wilmington, North Carolina’s Thunderlip. The recurring theme of costumes finally made their debut this Halloween weekend as singer Charge Kruiser dressed in drag with a cape and ascot as he writhed on the ground. The band put on a shock-rock set of songs that thoroughly entertained the ever-growing crowd, complete with a blood spitting bassist in the form of Patrick Phillips.

After taking a bit of a break to watch our local football team pull out an unimpressive win against a clearly inferior opponent, it was back downtown for more costumed musical mayhem. The band VCR were taking the stage at The Atlantic complete with neon-colored Jason masks. As a squid-man danced through the crowd, the band showered the audience in its aggressive synth-rock sound, inspiring many spontaneous mass-handclaps. No guitars here – just a rhythm section with three keyboardists that took the crowd on a musical journey of equal parts Hammond B3, Moog, and Farfisa. (They get my vote as The Fest V's best and most original band!) The Atlantic’s Fest set-up took some getting used to: the usual front entrance was reserved for bands only while us common folk had to enter through the side alley, which brought us into the club near the rear toilets. Charming.

After a missed attempt to catch Ghost Mice on the Downtown Plaza before the end of their set, a quick check of Common Grounds saw the line well into the parking lot in the direction of Five Star Pizza. Clearly, any hope of getting back there this evening was now lost.

The Side Bar was a great replacement, though, with a throng of high-energy punk bands. The Tim Version whipped the crowd into a frenzy with crowd surfers galore, even inspiring one overzealous fan to hang from the sprinklers mid-set. After a thorough scolding by the soundman, The Tim Version continued with Russ’ sandpaper-rough vocals and a harmonica stand that received little or no use. Up next were Mississippi trio One Reason. Stocky vocalist Ginger kept the crowd energy up with a tight set of stage diving crowd-pleasers.

The Door-Keys from Bloomington, Indiana were up next at The Side Bar. Led by vocalist Daun Door-Key, the quartet was a pleasant surprise for those that stuck around for a locally unknown name. Their tight rock sound showed much promise, providing hope we may see more of this band soon. From one college town to another, The Door-Keys were touring with Future Virgins, who were up later on the bill.

After a quick detour over to Bar One to catch part of a shoe gazing rock set by Building the State, it was back once again to Abbey Road, where Minus the Bear had put on a stunning set the night before. Oakland’s The Fleshies began the evening here, holding court before an enthusiastic crowd who continued to be inspired by vocalist Johnny No Moniker as he seemed to do more singing from the tops of the crowd’s heads than on stage. Equal parts Mick Jagger, Eddie Vedder, and J.D. Wilkes, No Moniker showed screamo energy that knew no end, while balancing atop amp stacks, crowd surfing mid-song, and being an all-around dynamo across the stage. It actually made the veterans Radon seem tame by comparison.

Radon, however, were not about to miss out on the fun. With members donning costumes as rapper Lil’ Jon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the band ripped into yet another reunion set that always holds the Gainesville locals rapt. For the first time, however, I noticed a marked decrease in the sound level while Radon was on stage. Perhaps it was just my overworked eardrums by that point, too.

After a few of Radon’s songs, it was time to hop on the old bike (the only way to get around town Fest weekend!) for a quick trek over to Club 1982 for the remainder of the evening. Upon arrival, three people were carrying someone dressed as Superman through the door in front of me. Turns out this was Morningbell vocalist Travis Atria making his grand entrance to the stage. With other members of the band dressed as Batman, The Flash, and Batgirl, the band opened with a spirited version of “Monster Mash.” These power-pop super heroes put on a concrete set of tunes, culminating in a finale of the band donning jackets covered in electric lights that strangely recalled the conclusion of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” video.

Local indie hip-hop trio C.Y.N.E. drew my biggest bit of sympathy on the day, however. Cultivating Your New Experience certainly did that, being the first act to feature a member that was actually too inebriated to perform. The conscious hip-hop collective’s DJ, who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent, was clearly in no shape to provide the beats that let emcees Akin and Cise Star work their normal magic. As a result, the duo did many of their tunes acapella. Those in the crowd clearly felt for them, though, providing much love and moral support for their efforts. Serving as a latter-day Public Enemy, Akin spouted conscious messages from the mic such as “crack kills black males” and other platitudes. Their set made one yearn for a performance under more sober conditions.

Closing out the evening, funk faves Velveteen Pink put on an impressive set of retro rhythm and blues inspired the likes of Prince and George Clinton. Drummer-vocalist Nicholas Robbins kept the beats coming through a constant cloud from the onstage smoke machine, while bassist-guitarist Timothy Deaux danced front and center with the band’s pimped-out jackets and shades. Keyboardists Stanley Walker II and Alfredo Lapuz, Jr. also laid town the funky riffs. While the smoke and disco lights did grow tired after a while, Velveteen Pink proved to all why they continue to be one of Gainesville’s most unique musical exports. By this time, however, many were weary from a grueling day of nonstop music. Even though the 1982 bartender emphasized an extra hour of drinking ahead thanks to the evening’s clock change, I doubt many took him up on the offer. After all, one more solid day of Fest music remains.

© Copyright 2006, The Gainesville Sun

Fest V Flashback: Day 1

2007-10-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Ah, it's that time yet again. The Fest 6 is here in Gainesville this weekend and it's bigger and crazier than ever. In fact, it's been sold out now since Tuesday morning! In honor of the festivities (can you believe Wayward Council is doing a show Saturday that begins at 6am?!?!), I'm posting my accounts of last year's shindig that I submitted for the now-defunct Undertone. I do have to say that even through the writing is mine, it is
© 2006 Gainesville Sun/NYT Publications. Without further ado:

Rain rules, but Bear growls on The Fest V’s opening night

FRED SOWDER/Theundertone.org

The day began promisingly enough. Excitement could be felt in the air as early as midday as throngs of bearded, black-shirted music fans, along with their jean-clad girlfriends, began to trek up and down West University Avenue. Their destination: indie record store and co-op Wayward Council, the official pickup point for their weekend pass wristbands for The Fest V. With its fifth year, The Fest promises to be bigger and better than ever, and not only because everyone was getting a free orange and white beer coozy with their ticket.

This year, with a barbeque on Saturday and Sunday, as well as a rooftop sunset happy hour, where the recently released Fest III DVD will be screened, shows that the event organizers are getting comfy with Gainesville tradition. There are even free shows each afternoon on the city-owned Downtown Community Plaza.

As the evening began, you could see why even the local Convention and Visitors Bureau was aware of the annual event this year. Parking spaces were at a premium even earlier than usual on a Friday as fans and band crews alike dueled for coveted downtown street parking. By eight o’clock, even the Sun Center parking lot was over capacity with vehicles parked halfway upon curbs in order to catch an early set by Miami natives Sidecar Racer at Club Red as part of the first-time electronic music Fest showcase by promoter Electronic SubSouth.

By this time, University Avenue almost had the feel of a street carnival. Packs of Fest attendees were easily spotted by their black attire as they strolled back and forth, checking out local businesses along the way. This manic atmosphere, however, was soon to be replaced by an evening monsoon not seen in Gainesville in quite some time.

As the more daring Fest goers took to the streets, some running, some merely shuffling between venues, the driving rain continued, bolstered by the strobe-effect lightning across the Gainesville sky.

Seattle’s Minus the Bear took to the stage at Abbey Road to a dedicated but slightly damp crowd. With tunes from their latest disc Menos el Oso as well as older favorites, The Bear kept the crowd grooving with their unique mix of synth grooves and rock sensibility. The crowd surfing was a bit atypical of a Minus the Bear show, but considering the venue and its longtime reputation of overzealous security, it seemed to fit the situation. Other band members on the bill came out to lend a vocal hand to the band including those from P.O.S. and Velvet Teen.

MTB made due with the largely cavernous venue that is Abbey Road, filling the undressed room with their unique pulsing sound, much to the delight of all in attendance. At the show’s conclusion and after last call, almost on cue, the rain lessened, giving all hope for a cool yet sunny music-filled Saturday.

© Copyright 2007, The Gainesville Sun

Fatherhood and victory!

2006-11-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

Well, first of all, one of the most prominent things to ever happen in my life occurred about a week and a half ago. Aiden Noah Sowder was born at 7:18am on November 2, 2006 at North Florida Regional Medical Center, Room 350 at the Women's Center.

What a whirlwind of activity this was. Late last week, we did learn that Aiden has Down Syndrome. After a bit of grief and disappointment from Michelle and myself, we accepted these cards we were dealt and know that it was done for a reason. Our goal to nurture Aiden may have been made just a bit more difficult, but I feel that we are more than up for the challenge.

Amid the rabid rounds of congratulations, mazel tovs, and other all around acts of jubilation, one comment still sticks in my craw. After leaving the meeting of our local Democratic Executive Committee, a congressional candidate who lost his election the night before simply said to me, "you're too old to be having kids."

Excuse me?

I know I should consider the source and simply let this go. Knowing this man's political mis-steps as of late should give me even more reason to dismiss the above comment. As a self-proclaimed champion of the Left, the comments and proclamations of this man are at times quite sad. Even more sad is that I tried to help this person win his seat in Congress in previous elections despite being outside of the district in which I live.

In summary, I did not find the above comment surprising or productive. It's hardly the first time such a verbal mis-step was made by this man and will certainly not be the last. He'll probably continue to run for this office again, after losing miserably a staggering three times thus far. Instead of building a political career by beginning with a state, local, or regional seat, he continues to try to fly to the moon on a bottle rocket.

Let us not dwell on these things, though, shall we? We are here to celebrate. The dems have taken control of both houses of Congress and there is work to be done. What the opposition has done in the last 14 years in the legislative branch is both shameful and overwhelming. Let's hope that Congress gets out of reverse and puts the gear in Pro-gress.

Shalom, y'all...

papercranes brighten up Common Grounds

2006-07-02T23:43:00.000-04:00

Saturday evenings in Gainesville can be crazy affairs. Using the middle of the weekend to cut loose from the ordeal of papers, exams, and classes, students often pack the downtown bars and clubs for a brief hedonistic respite from academics. That’s why summer Saturdays are often a fresh change with smaller crowds and a more laidback atmosphere.

This past Saturday provided such an opportunity at Common Grounds with the blues-rock of Bracelet coupled with the mild psychedelia of papercranes. Outside, DJ Jumpstart, better known as journalist and Common Grounds veteran Jay Maggio, played songs from his laptop that included pop-heavy tunes regardless of era. At one point, Maggio segued from Petula Clark’s “Downtown” to Sonic Youth’s rendition of The Carpenters’ “Superstar.” This no doubt provided some eclectic listening for those gathered on the cover-free porch.

Onstage inside, Bracelet kicked off things with their blues-rock sound. At times reaching the higher registers of singers like Jeff Buckley or Thom Yorke, singer-guitarist Larry Watts led the band through rave-ups and quieter, introspective tunes alike. He also thanked someone named Eddie for loaning him an amp after his apparently exploded. Drummer Mike Webb and the hairless Mike Allgood on bass were an intense rhythm section, with Webb even snapping a drumstick tip halfway through the set. Musically, Bracelet had a contemporary-yet-solid sound on par with bands such as Bloc Party or Snow Patrol.

papercranes were up next. (The lack of capitalization is intentional.) Led by singer/actress Rain Phoenix, the band were reminiscent of some of the best of what nineties alternative rock had to offer such as The Sundays and Mazzy Star. With the edge of the stage and mic stands festooned with twinkling Christmas lights, the band launched into their richly textured sound. This was a Phoenix family affair, with sister Liberty joining on lead vocals on a few songs while their mother, Arlyn, looked on from front and center in the crowd. In light of this, local Buzz DJ Spanish yelled that he wanted to “do beer bong hits with mom.” Phoenix retorted that she would be doing all of the heckling this evening since she had the microphone.

Earlier in the set, after saying she was at a loss for words, Rain Phoenix launched her band into a haunting rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” The catchy “Untitled Treasure,” with sister Liberty once again on backing vocals followed, in which Rain announced that the song would be on their upcoming CD Vidalia, due out this fall.

Later in the song, Phoenix announced the imminent departure of their drummer, Dave Lebleu, for New York City, dedicating one of their songs to him. Other favorites included the introspective “What’s Left” and the driving “Trophy,” the latter of which brought out Phoenix’s guitar. As a parting effort, Phoenix announced the band was going on “a freeform jazz odyssey,” playing a song that everyone knew. With that, papercranes brought out and updated the Steve Miller Band classic “Abracadabra.” Thus, another magical summer evening of local music came to a close.

A midsummer’s night in Gainesville

2006-07-02T23:42:00.000-04:00

At least a couple of local journalists and club owners have declared this week a “slow week” in Gainesville. This can be debatable considering the number of quality shows in the next few days. Gainesville’s Mercury Program made a triumphant return Thursday evening at Common Grounds. This week, bands such as Whiskey & Co., Papercranes, and Two Finger Suicide all play headlining stints in their hometowns.

Friday evening was no exception. The evening began at Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub where local favorite DJ Donna was spinning some of the best eighties tunes, and will be all weekend. With her tip and request jar quickly filling, Donna spun everything from Madness to Madonna, Stray Cats to Social Distortion, and many others in between, all from her impressive collection of vinyl.

After getting an old-wave appetizer, it was off to Tim & Terry’s, the restaurant/ convenience/music store that also doubles as a performance venue. There, noise duo Liquid Limbs were sweating up the back room along with technical power trio Nim Sum.

Liquid Limbs are an up-and-coming guitarist/bassist and drummer. Sounding closer to Sonic Youth than The White Stripes, however, Liquid Limbs played a tight, urgent set of punk-meets-indie rock, further proving the incredible musical power that can be unleashed by a mere two musicians. The guitarist, decked in a blue button-down shirt, set out some of the band’s free stickers on a nearby chair, adding that stickers are much cheaper to produce than CDs.

Then, as Nim Sum drummer Jimi “Stixx” Hiley was still setting up his kit, guitarist Patrick Dugan and bassist Morgan Caraway began warming up, which became a spectacle in itself, as they traded quick bursts of riffing that fell somewhere between the band Interpol and the material on Radiohead’s album Kid A. When Hiley segued into the mix, it was like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle sliding into place; the full musical power of Nim Sum was then complete. Caraway’s mother was in the audience, who was celebrating her new retirement earlier that day, along with his aunt and stepfather.

Some have referred to Nim Sum’s sound as “math rock,” but their perpetual groove is not something you don’t have to be a Rush fan to appreciate. While their chord and rhythm changes might be tight and precise a la something by the band Fantomas, their music has enough heart and soul to appeal to the most casual of music fans. Caraway also announced that the band will begin recording a new CD this week. While Caraway seemed the band’s official spokesperson, Hiley played the role of music director, whipping out a tentative set of songs early on, which eventually found its way spiked onto the top of his hi-hat cymbal.

After Caraway ended the set by feeding back his bass into his amp, the band jumped into their final song of the evening, “Fracture.” Closing by sliding an Arizona Iced Tea up and down his bass neck, another hot, steamy evening of music in Gainesville came to a close, until the next time. We’ll do it once again in less than 24 hours.

Folk explosion at the music hall

2006-07-02T23:39:00.000-04:00

To take a night off from the heavily amplified music grind at the downtown Gainesville clubs and bars can sometimes be a palette-cleansing experience. One such occasion was this past Saturday evening at the First Street Music Hall north of downtown. This one-time church that was adapted into a performance space and childcare facility has begun hosting folk nights on the weekends on at least a monthly basis. This occasion was to raise operating funds for the local nonprofit Civic Media Center reading room and library.

First up was Rob McGregor, who performed with a trio also consisting of Mark and Andrew. McGregor, also a proficient local music producer, has been a musician’s musician for some time. This was evidenced by the many locals in attendance that were also taking a night off from the usual weekend music circuit.

Following McGregor and company was the local duo of Hamhock and Slide, who have many national songwriting accolades to their credit. With Glenn “Hamhock” Moody on electric guitar teamed up with Matt “Slide” DeWein on acoustic guitar and dobro, DeWein lived up to his nickname with the latter instrument by his deft use of steel bottleneck on both vocal and instrumental blues tunes. Both were certainly musicians of the folkways tradition, weaving tales of everything from South African liqueur to their musical travels to Colorado. Additional songs were of epic length, oftentimes consisting of multiple tempo changes and movements, especially with the twin guitars featured late in the set.

Wrapping up the evening was Lars Din with his band SongRiot. The quintet, which included trumpet, bass, mandolin, and accordion, accompanied Din as he took the stage wearing slacks and a wife beater tank top. Lars Din has been a local favorite for years, with his guitar-and-vocal style often coming across as that of a punk rock Woody Guthrie.

Songs such as “Ichetucknee” encouraged the crowd to sing, clap, and stomp their feet through a set that addressed weighty world issues in addition to simple matters encountered in everyday life. The latter included a tale of his dog’s desire to live in his van. Crowd favorites included such selections as “This Ain’t No Bike Friendly Town” and “Floodplain, FL.” Din’s band consisted of crack musicians that coped with his sudden key changes for songs even as he was starting them. The assembled crowd joined in during the refrain of “until they drag us down / we rise…” as well as the amusing “Gossip is the Devil’s Radio.”

The Northeast First Street Music Hall, obviously not a bar, was strictly a BYOB affair. The patrons either toted in their own twelve-packs of Natural Light or brown-bagged a single from a local convenience store. With that said, though, the crowd was well behaved and expectedly low key. If you need an occasional break from the downtown music scene, give the First Street Music Hall a try. As Civic Media Center founding member Joe Courter announced between sets, the hall will be hosting another music event in mid-July. Consider it a horizon-broadening move.

Bands bring a triple threat to 1982

2006-06-24T16:18:00.000-04:00

There’s a funny thing about indie music: oftentimes, it is whatever you make it. Whether it’s a single acoustic guitar, a flailing power trio, or a three-guitar juggernaut of sound, the definition fits within its vague-yet-wide spectrum. Friday night, it was all three as The Cold Ones, J. Page, and The Enablers showed off a wide variety of indie’s elements at Club 1982 in midtown Gainesville.

While The Enablers have been defined as a quartet for the past couple of years, tonight’s billing of “The Enablers (acoustic)” was actually singer-songwriter Rob Coe and his acoustic guitar. What made his set so surreal was the presence of the other members of The Enablers, guitarist Todd Rockhill, drummer Addison Burns, and bassist Troy Perlman’s presence at the venue. While his fellow band members provided moral support offstage, Coe stretched his set from hard-luck to humorous with a set of tunes that kept the crowd spellbound. “My little baby’s got a farmer’s tan,” sang Coe, making his storytelling that much more earnest via his raspy tenor, providing a intriguing vocal presence throughout.

The set turned comedic several times, with Coe covering The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha,” the song featured in the latest batch of Heineken Premium Light television ads. Other highlights were “I’ve Been Meaning to Get You Off My Mind” and “Tomorrow,” which provided Coe a mid-set opportunity to bare his soul to a thin but dedicated crowd.

After performing a song by his former band Fay Wray, Coe referred to a conversation he had with the band’s former vocalist: “Jeff London says to trust your government,” Coe wryly declared. At the conclusion of this song, a reveler shouted, “holy s**t!” to which Coe replied, “Sorry, I don’t know ‘Holy S**t.’”

Rob Coe kept the crowd mesmerized with an ode to being down-and-out in their home state with “F**ked in Florida.” He was also in lighter spirits with the amusing “It’s a Sammy Hagar Weekend,” in which he expounded upon the hardships facing drivers that navigate the entire state on a fairly regular basis, often driving faster than 55. Coe’s robust set concluded with a cover of The Misfits’ “Last Caress.”

The black-shirted guys in J. Page were next, still fresh from their recent tour with Tampa’s New Bruises. Now a quintet, their three-guitar, three-chord attack spilled across the small 1982 room like a tidal wave. Songs such as the title track to their EP “Goodbye Chapel Hill” seemed so majestic in this context, yet the interchanged vocals along with the guitar symphony’s cohesion never made things too overpowering. Some in the band thought that they sounded “weird,” but it was certainly weird in a good way.

The Cold Ones are a prime example of the interchangeability between members of Gainesville bands. J. Page bassist Troy remained onstage for The Cold Ones’ set, joined by drummer Burns and guitarist-vocalist Michael. The power trio provided a great complement to the night, tearing through favorites like “Maurice” and “Sister Oh Sister,” with Burns’ and Perlman’s solid rhythm section backing up Michael, who looked at times like an unshaven Gordon Gano. Perlman, although a bassist for all three bands on the bill, played with only two of them thanks to Coe’s solo stint.

1982 was also refreshingly cooler this time. Co-owner Grant Tchekmeian, while nursing a broken foot between working the door, explained that they’ve discovered a glitch with the front AC unit and that it would be back in action soon. In the meantime, there are 4 “cyclone” fans scattered around the main floor, so if the heat’s kept you away from 1982, don’t fret: the air’s cool once again and the beer is ice cold.

Cowgirls and power chords

2006-06-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

It’s a bit hard to picture a band such as The Dixie Chicks on the same bill with an outfit like AC/DC. That is unless you live in Gainesville, of course. When local bands of such styles play the same venue on a Friday night, for example, it simply means that folks from all walks of life – fans of music of all types – will be under one roof, all in the name of quality music.

Last Friday was such an evening in Gainesville. It was a night of country and rock witnessed by a wide spectrum of fans as the Rockhill Sessions Band and The Ones to Blame brought what they had downtown to The Atlantic. Country was the theme throughout most of the night as The Ones to Blame began things with hard livin’, heavy drinkin’ songs much in the style of Hank Williams or George Jones.

After a sound check followed by a “shot break,” the four ladies in The Ones to Blame hit the stage with a plethora of crowd-pleasers. Besides playing The Fest late last year, The Ones to Blame were also recently on the bill here with Whiskey & Co. last month. This accumulated experience showed this evening as these four gals were clearly having a good time. Drummer Lezli Johnson came front and center, doing her best Mick Jagger impression, complete with strutting and hip-shaking, for “$3.99 Wine,” their ode to discounted bacchanalia. These cowgirls may have the blues at times, but with songs rhyming Budweiser with Jagermeister, they also know how to cut loose and party. Mandolin player-vocalist Sue Mendez put her usual best smile forward throughout as families, singles, and couples alike scooted boots on the dancefloor.

Once the ladies cleared the stage, it was time for some old-fashioned three-chord rock by the Rockhill Sessions Band. The quintet’s namesake, guitarist Todd Rockhill, is well known for his nights working at Common Grounds in addition to his lead guitar in the band The Enablers along with ace drummer Addison Burns, who also shared the stage with him here.

Rockhill’s band also seemed determined to have fun. Complete with a new vocalist who just joined this past week, they came strong with their musical attack of large riffs that at times channeled those of rockers such as The Cult or Thin Lizzy. Rob, the rhythm guitarist, sported a Van Halen t-shirt, which often accurately described his playing. While Rockhill was often the focal point, the rhythm guitar played a vital role in much the same way that Malcolm Young anchors brother Angus’s guitar squalls in AC/DC.

With such a green vocalist, it was no surprise that the band’s primary weakness was in front of the mic. The singer tried to deflect his blown vocal cords with amusing between-song banter, including the introduction of “Stripper Pole” as a song that “would make his mom proud.” This was cold comfort, however, considering how punishingly raw the vocals were throughout the set. Rockhill took over singing duties on occasion, with his gruff tenor providing a welcome diversion from the status quo.

The night’s closing song, “Rocker,” brought Rockhill to the fore once again, saving his best guitar heroics for the night’s final song. Those wanting more, especially from Burns and Rockhill, will get their chance this Friday as The Enablers bring their slightly new lineup to 1982 for an acoustic set. Stay tuned!

Radon settles in at home

2006-06-11T20:35:00.000-04:00

There seems to be a thing about bands from the 1990s. If they split up and reform years later, they come back far more potent and more popular than they were in their original heyday. Take The Pixies, for example. Their reunion tours of recent years have drawn huge audiences worldwide comprised of those who return for a bit of nostalgia coupled with those that have just discovered them for the first time.

Local bands seem no exception. Saturday evening, Gainesville favorites Radon reformed before a packed Common Grounds crowd. The show packed plenty of surprises, including Brent Wilson’s announcement that the band just finished recording a 11 new songs for a new CD entitled Metric Buttloads of Rock with local stalwart Rob McGregor producing. “Rob worked 14 hours yesterday,” exclaimed Wilson, who added that the band recorded the entire disc in the past 5 days. With recent reunion shows confined strictly to Gainesville’s annual Fest, Radon played their first headlining show in several years, with local favories J. Page and The Cold Ones adding support.

New Radon songs included “Control Room,” which was written about the “idiots in the White House.” The occasion seemed even more festive due to the birthday of drummer Bill Clower, who many may recognize from holding things down in the kitchen at Satchel’s Pizza in recent years. Clower came front and center to the mic several times during the evening, including an announcement that the band was taking a five minute break for beer. Apparently even aging punks need time for recuperation on occasion.

Not that the band deny it in the least. “Who here used to go to the Hard Back?” asked guitarist-vocalist Dave Rohm, commenting on the number of old-timers in the audience. Isa Shulman, a resident of Los Angeles, came to Gainesville just to see this show. “I flew into Tampa yesterday and I fly back home from Tampa tomorrow night,” confessed Shulman, who has been a long-time Radon fan going back to her days at the legendary Miami-based record store Y&T Records.

Although the band seemed understandably rusty at times, particularly when running through their new songs, Radon let their punk flag fly without apology, culminating in the classic mass-singalong during their infamous self-titled "Radon." With a new record on the way, time will only tell if Radon is truly back to reclaim their punk rock mantle or to rest on their laurels and play the occasional one-off nostalgia trip. With talent and potential such as theirs, let's hope for the former.

Against All Authority steam up 1982

2006-06-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

The outdoor Gainesville air felt like air conditioning compared to that from which the crowd had emerged. Venerable punk band Against All Authority just finished playing a one-song encore to a mostly teenage crowd at the small-but-buzzing Club 1982 on Sunday evening.

AAA bring their intense mix of punk and ska to Gainesville quite often, but each visit is still a major event. In this instance, a staggering four bands: The Grabass Charlestons, The Body Electric, The Sense Offenders, and Black 22 provided the do-it-yourself support on the bill.

Against All Authority formed in Miami in 1992, making punk rock on their own terms. Through their six albums, AAA have amassed a huge following who unconditionally swear allegiance to the band's career through thick and thin. All ages shows such as this one meant a highly energetic high school and middle school crowd that kept the mosh pit thrashing and skanking throughout the evening.

Despite their amassed catalog, AAA focused largely on their latest release, The Restoration of Chaos & Order, with songs such as "Shut It Down" and “Sweet Televised Destruction.” Trumpeter Alan Veronese, with his talents being called upon for the many ska tunes of the evening, was forced to keep a napkin close to constantly wipe the sweat from his mouth between solos.

Singer-bassist Danny Lore, in a show of punk solidarity, wore a Radon shirt to promote their show next weekend at Common Grounds.

His molten-lead basslines coupled with drummer Macbeth Proenza’s four-to-the-floor drumming, anchored AAA's sound despite the spa-type atmosphere of 1982.

Veteran guitarist Joe Koontz kept the riffs front and center, complementing the band’s raw punk power. Koontz’s complaint about the heat was brushed off as "just kidding," but he and his band mates clearly felt the oppressive heat and humidity from a room unable to support their punk rock assault.

Proenza, who was clearly the least likely to return to the stage for the encore, brought his a-game for one final song - the last until their punk rock blitzkrieg plays Gainesville the next time, that is.

Spam everybody wants

2006-06-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

Run-D.M.C. once declared that a DJ could be a band. Since that time, not many have taken this to heart. Bands like Linkin Park and Kid Rock's Silver Trucker Band have reduced the DJ to a side player, adding textures of scratching and beats only where it is called for, which is not terribly often.

The Spam All Stars have taken this role and turned it on its head. DJ Le Spam (aka Andrew Yeomanson) hails from Miami and has been a multi instrumentalist for many years, even playing guitar for local favorite Nil Lara for a few years in the mid-90s. This combined with spending his early years moving from cities as diverse as Montreal, London, Tampa, Bogota, and Toronto, have made Yeomanson a man of many influences. These roots come out in the Spam All Stars' live show.

The Spam All Stars bring a DJ set with band accompaniment. This is a concept that has served them well for over a decade, which has included such accolades as a Latin Grammy nomination and having their music featured on television shows such as PBS's Latino Art and Culture.

Throughout their Gainesville visit, DJ Le Spam and company moved from salsa to dub to fusion to funk and back, all with the seamless verve of veteran musicians. Le Spam was clearly the band leader, however. Vocalist flautist Mercedes Abal, guitarist Adam Zimmon, and other band members weaved their musical contributions over Le Spam's musical cauldron of breaks, funk, and Miami bass. "The instruments get to come in and out, dancing around each other," commented an anonymous fan between sets. Saxophone and timpani complete the Spam sound, adding that extra Latin flavor that fully brings out their Miami roots.

The instruments weren't the only things dancing. Other between-set entertainment included a pair of improvising breakdancers, throwing down windmills, headspins, and other bodily wonders with relative ease. Most in the audience found it compulsory to keep moving during the All Stars' set, with a large contingent bopping and grooving to the beat as if they were at a Medeski, Martin, and Wood show.

Despite the oppressive heat inside The Atlantic, many stayed to witness the Spam All Stars' final notes of the evening. Many clearly wanted more, and more they will get with their four independently-released CDs and their monthly visits to Gainesville. Estarán detrás...they'll be back!

Physician's Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Bear

2006-06-11T20:21:00.000-04:00

It's common logic in Gainesville that weekends generally begin on Thursday evenings. This past week was no different as a weekend-caliber crowd packed Common Grounds to see local favorites Apollo Quartet and Dear and Glorious Physician on the bill with Seattle's Minus the Bear.

Gainesville's own Apollo Quartet kicked things off with a heavy yet melodic sound that's often compared to that of Ian McKaye and Fugazi. All three bands, however, could be forced into the genre of convenience called emo. This, however, would be rather unfair to bands that are so different in their approach, influence, and stage presence.

Dear and Glorious Physician quickly proved that this quartet of siblings are quickly becoming one of Gainesville's most loved bands. Normally this two-brother, two-sister outfit sport all white "uniforms," but the bleach was held back a bit this evening as guitarist-vocalist Jillian Westfall actually took the bold move of sporting black. While the implications of such a statement seemed unclear, the music's feel certainly did not. The Physician was in! Lead vocalist-guitarist Chase's solid guitar work was only matched by his vocals, which wavered at times between a tortued Warren Zevon, a screaming Frank Black, or an overly-smug Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies. Sister Jillian's Kim Gordon-esque delivery coupled with the strong rhythm section of Robin and Andrew on bass and drums, respectively, provides for an indie rock tour de force. Their closer proved their fearlessness for the intense, with Chase doing his best to wrestle with with his inner Maynard James Keenan. The Westfalls have certainly made progress since their appearance at The Fest last November, and it seems as if their Gainesville residency has the potential to be a long and successful one.

The placement of a laptop computer onstage with a band's gear can potentially be cause for dismay among many indie purists, but Minus the Bear proved that electronica grooves and guitar heroics can peacefully coexist. The Seattleites were in town on a break from their nationwide tour with emo kings Thursday to give Gainesville a musical adventure. Leader Jake Snider aptly led the dance rock circus, with other key roles put forth by bassist Cory Murchy and his frilly-yet-minimalist t-shirt, which is also a good way to describe his rhythmic style. Picking up where pioneers such as The Rapture left off, The Bear (as they're lovingly known to their fans) laid down rug-cutters for Death Cab for Cutie fans -- a marriage of samples and solos not heard this side of The Postal Service. The digital beats put forth by laptop jockey Matt Bayles fought with Erin Tate's drums to create a bass-heavy, syncopated stew at times comparable to New Order on steroids.

The Bear clearly had their share of adoration as evidenced by their two-song encore which featured the crowd favorite "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse." The song titles may seem a bit unusual, and getting a mental image of a crowd consuming hallucinogenic beverages at a building of questionable character may prove difficult. That, however, was a dilemma that The Bear was here to solve. Their sound explains it all.

New: Music Reviews!

2006-06-11T20:17:00.000-04:00

Hey all! Long time no post (what the hell else is new?). Anyway, I'm getting a bit burned out on the civic politics of this town. After all, there seems to be enough quality officeholders now in this town to take care of things. The City of Alachua may be another story. Charlie Grapski and a friend of his could use your help. For more info on that, click here. Otherwise, what follows are a series of Gainesville concert reviews that I've recently done for Gainesville.com, which is the website of the Gainesville Sun. Enjoy!

Pat Robertson is God's Psychopath

2005-08-23T18:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Pat Robertson recently recommended that the US assassinate Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. As a caller to the Ed Schultz Show said today, maybe we should go to Virginia Beach and place a citizen's arrest on this bastard.

Or, someone else, Oscar in Louisville, has a much better suggestion. Check it out here.

Also, last Saturday sent the great Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's remains exploding into the heavens. Godspeed, you crazy bastard! Mahalo.

Finally, sorry I've been gone so long. I'll try to make an effort to be a bit more social. The weather's still hot as hell here, so it's the least I can do.

Coachella 2005: a weekend of music and artistic mayhem in the desert

2005-05-06T14:00:00.000-04:00

After spending the past several years jealously reading about great times and even greater music every year at Coachella, my wife and I decided to take the plunge this year and find out what all the fuss was about. It doesn't hurt that my mother and aunt live less than a half hour away; makes for a fairly inexpensive trip. Either way, it was a great way for us to celebrate our first anniversary!

This account will gradually be expanded, with photos, but for now, here are just a few of the incredible bands we saw over the weekend of April 30th and May 1st:

Day One:
========
Snow Patrol
Keane
Stereophonics
Rilo Kiley
Wilco
MF Doom
Cafe Tacuba
Weezer
Four Tet
Bauhaus
Fantomas
The Chemical Brothers (from afar)
Coldplay

It wasn't all about music, either. Some of the art on display was quite impressive and fascinating. The first thing you are greeted by at the entrance is the Horn Massive, a gigantic scoop speaker weighing 2 tons and measuring 4 meters wide! The dancehall they were playing out of this on Saturday evening sounded particularly impressive.

There were also sculptures to relieve your stress through percussion. First, the Platonic Chamber was hardly what its name implied. Festivalgoers gathered around the steel sculpture, pounding it with the sticks provided or they simply used their shoes or whatever their eager hands could grasp upon. There was also the drum orb, an impressive round cage consisting of dozens of drums of all shapes and sizes. The band had several shows throughout the day, encouraging audience members to play the orb along with the assembled musicians.

The evening brought many of these artistic pieces to life. Close to the entrance was the CAUAC, a gigantic teslacoil that had been at the festival previous years. This year they claimed to have upped the juice on the sucker quite a bit, making for an awesome electrical show as tongues of lightning licked the cool desert evening air while emitting a sound similar to that of a helicopter engine. Propane gas also came into play with the Thermo Kraken, a 20-foot-high sculpture that pulsed and spat fire throughout the evening. At times, the Kraken's noise would become so loud that it would often drown out the acts playing the nearby Gobi Tent.

Other impressive works included a massive misting dragonfly, a gigantic sphere full of pulsing techno and dancers wearing traditional Far Eastern garb, and the quite politically incorrect RoboChrist show, which was basically an R-rated version of the robot wars you often see on television. There, mechanized terrors would decapitate human effigies, overturn Jaguars (the car, not the animal) and rip the faces off of blood-spewing gigantic babies. This, of course, provided the perfect opening act for Nine Inch Nails on Sunday evening.

Speaking of which...

Day Two:
========
Jem
Kasabian
Tegan and Sara
Gang of Four
Z-Trip (with Chester Bennington)
New Order (with a taped Kylie Minogue)
British Sea Power
Nine Inch Nails
The Prodigy
Bright Eyes

Eco-friendly exhibits were also on display (this is California, after all!). There were rows and rows of creatively-decorated recycle bins, dubbed TRASHed. These were not unlike the plastic wheeled containers that those of us in Gainesville use as our main trash bins. All of these were up for sale, with proceeds benefiting fashionpeace.org.

A couple of the drawbacks were eventually seen as pluses. First, the ticket prices were rather high (about $75 per day), but it was almost worth it to not see the constant corporate banners in your face from the stages, exhibits, etc. Also, alcohol was being served, but could only be consumed within restricted fenced areas well away from any of the stages. I thought this was quite bad at first, until by clever wife pointed out to me, "would you really want all of these inebriated assholes hanging out with you in the crowd?" Damn, she's got a point. Just one of the many fine reasons I married her... :-) Anyway, a note to the responsible drinker: simply pretend it's a Gator game and pack a flask.

The worst part of the whole festival was the parking situation. There were several lots around the polo field, all of them marked by high-flying yellow balloons with the lot number on them. One problem that festival organizers Goldenvoice apparently didn't anticipate was the strength of the desert winds that kick up after sundown. Saturday evening, it took us over an hour to find our rental car since the winds had blown the balloons almost to the point where they were horizontal. It's much harder to see these yellow balloons when they're only about 15 feet off the ground thanks to blustery mother nature.

All in all, a good time though. Music Midtown in Atlanta, with all it's corporatization, is still the better value. Coachella, however, may be on our radar screens once again if the band lineup proves worthy.

R&R in the CV!

2005-04-29T13:10:00.000-04:00

Well, Michelle and I are off to the Coachella Valley for a week of chilling and checking out good music. The Coachella Music Festival is on for this weekend and should be an amazing time. We'll be checking out the likes of Bauhaus, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Kasabian, Bright Eyes, and Bloc Party. Should be a most excellent time. Then, it's Sarah McLachlan time again, with Sarah playing in Orlando next Friday and Tampa a week from Monday. What a music-filled vacation. We'll bring back pictures. Promise.

DONOVAN WINS RUNOFF!

2005-04-20T00:27:00.000-04:00

What an amazing evening. We just returned from The Top downtown where Jack Donovan pulled off an incredible victory against the incumbent City Commission shouter Tony Domenech in District 3. Dems from far and wide came downtown to celebrate and a good time was had by all. On his way out this evening, Jack said to us, "Keep in touch. This was a group effort and will continue to be a group effort." Amen!

I started the day out signwaving for Jack on the corner of NW 34th Street and 16th Avenue. Although I was severely outgunned, Tony's supporters arrived late and left early. Such lukewarm support was evident with the motorists' reactions as well. Tony himself showed up briefly with a staple gun to staple some "vote today" signs to his existing campaign placards. He nearly got run over by an SUV in the left turn lane as he attempted to run back to his truck...

This was indeed a victory for Gainesville's grassroots. I believe Donovan truly realizes this. It can only appear to be a bit lonely in the Braddy camp these days - and a bit shameful in Bryant's. Sure, Rick's may still be flying high after his outright victory last month, but how long can that last once the reality of his backing the wrong horses truly sets in?

Brinkman and Thrall are out; Donovan vs. Domenech in a runoff...

2005-03-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well, after signholding earlier in the week, I survived a horrible bout of wretching and puking after DJing the Greater Gator Beer Festival in the pouring rain for 3+ hours. Today was the first time I called in sick in over 3 years! Stumbling out of bed to check the election results this evening didn't help matters at all. Rick Bryant won the at-large election with an unbelievable 50.5% of the vote, avoiding a runoff with Rob Brinkman or Diyonne McGraw. The most right-wing member of the City Commission, Ed Braddy, squeaked by challenger Grant Thrall as well (there was no change of a runoff here with only two candidates). One beacon of hope, though, was Jack Donovan going toe to toe with Tony Domenech to force the only runoff. I was pretty undecided on this race, but I've now thrown my full support behind Jack Donovan. Jack is more of what we need on the commission: a compassionate, listening voice that will listen to the concerns of ALL of Gainesville's citizens. Tony Domenech seems to be putting a lot of effort into courting the UF frat-boy vote. Did anyone tell him that students in this town rarely vote? Apparently not. Just keep going after those non-voters, Tony. Great job!

One last thought on Rob Brinkman's campaign: one bit that probably cost him the runoff was his decision to piggyback all of his campaign streetcorner signs with the NO NEW COAL PLANT signs. I signwaved extensively for Rob, but I was seen my most people as nothing more than a protester and not a campaigner. It's not my campaign, though, so who am I to say? The coal plant is an important issue for this city, but not one that should dominate to the point where it should be placed ABOVE your own campaign sign, IMNSHO. I'm tired at this point, but I did help Jack a bit monetarily on his campaign. Go Jack! Make us proud on April 19th!

Back to soup and saltines...ugh!

We survived the Big Apple

2005-03-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

Finally, a well-deserved vacation! We spent it chilling out in the Big City. Much thanks to Lenny for putting us up for a few nights, as well as to Michael, Dorothy, Jason, Dave, Rachael, etc., for being fine hosts on our trip. We got to see the Gators both win and lose in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, respectively (at Buster's Garage). Later, we met the infamous Barry at the Nancy Whiskey Bar, locaed in Tribeca, down from the Garage. We hung out largely in the East Village, but also in Brooklyn Heights, Tribeca, Union Square, SoHo, Chinatown, and Riverside. Thanks for Jack Price for giving us the heads up on NYC's only Chilean restaurant, Palmaire. Phenomenal food, plus the infamous drink the Pisco Sour. We were also treated to a fine Peruvean restaurant in Brooklyn by Michael and Dorothy (you guys are too kind!). It was also nice to see our good friend Edward again, albeit for a quick meetup at the Union Square Barnes & Noble and dinner at The Kiev (yes, the same one mentioned in King Missile's "Detachable Penis!").

Witnessing the insanity of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade was unforgettable, too. We got plenty of pictures, including the pipes and drums from County Cork for Shauna. We'll share the memories and photos with her soon at her bar Durty Nelly's, I'm sure.

Every time I visit New York City, I feel like a belong there more and more. Hey Danny Goldberg, please a seasoned radio veteran a gig with Air America already!

Medeski, Martin and Wood play a gigantic tin-can shithole!

2005-03-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, Michelle and I went back to Brick Shitty, er, City Music Hall for the first time in nearly 3 years last night to see the great Medeski, Martin & Wood. The musicianship was top-notch as usual. However, it was not really surprising that the venue remains one of the biggest shitholes on the PLANET!

The security still thinks they're working at a Washington Avenue South Beach club. They got the rolled-up black t-shirts, the whole nine yards. Yeah, buddy, you really look authoritative! Schmucks! Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies was right: that club continues to hit new lows in lack of class and quality. The ownership seems to change constantly, but the crap just stays the same. A message for the Gainesville Planning & Zoning Board: either see if you can bring back Skeeter's Big Biscuit to that building or have it condemned and demolished. You'd be doing the whole downtown landscape a HUGE favor!

GATORS WIN SEC!!!

2005-03-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a game! Pete, Nancy, Kai, Michelle and I caught the game from Gators Dockside. We had a ringside seat by the big screen for a very memorable 70-53 Gator victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. Matt Walsh was on fire, David Lee dominated like the senior that he is, and Peep (Anthony Roberson), Corey Brewer, and Al Horford played vital supporting roles in this bit of roundball perfection. Now the big dance looms. Looks like we'll be checking out the first and second rounds from a bar in the Big Apple. NYC, here we come! Mahalo.

Broward Supports, Miami-Dade Rejects Pari-mutuel slot machines

2005-03-09T18:08:00.000-05:00

Being the social darwinist that I am on many related issues, I applaud the voters of Broward County for supporting this measure. Dade County, however, looks as if it will continue to shoot itself in the foot when it comes to further developing their primary industry of tourism...

Joining the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee

2005-03-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

This country is going down the wrong road -- it's as simple as that. The radio industry, which I had grown up enjoying and striving for as my lifelong career, is in ruins. Corporate interests have taken such a stranglehold on the wireless medium that forms of governmental dissent can be construed as "profane" or "indecent" and be grounds for dismissal. The age of widespread format experimentation is long since dead. Time has come to stand up and take action! That is why I'm joining the ACDEC with my induction this evening. One of my immediate goals is to work with their Issues Committee on a report on the current state of corporate and independent media as well as to help the Civic Media Center get its low power FM (LPFM) radio station off the ground. There's much more to address than this, of course, including the bastardization of the judiciary and Social Security. Now is when the hardest work needs to be done. Good luck to us!

City Commission Candidate Budgets, Round 1

2005-03-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

It's all about the benjamins, baby!

City Commission, District 2:

Ed Braddy (I) $9,978.00 raised $2,191.76 spent
Grant Thrall $6,423.54 raised $2,702.72 spent

City Commission, District 3:

Tony Domenech (I) $8,895.00 raised $ 259.25 spent
Jack Donovan $7,326.25 raised $1,568.91 spent
Michael Belle $6,272.97 raised $2,356.17 spent

City Commission, At-Large
Rick Bryant (I) $11,941.38 raised $2,079.87 spent
Rob Brinkman $8,085.50 raised $2,365.30 spent
Diyonne McGraw $2,613.84 raised $860.60 spent
"Gabriel" N/A raised N/A spent (what an enigma!)

Mahalo.

The Satellite: Brinkman, Thrall, Donovan, and Belle shine

2005-03-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well...

While at the forementioned show at Common Grounds, I picked up the brand spankin' new copy of Satellite Magazine. As a part of Rob Brinkman's campaign, I was instantly drawn to the article on the Gainesville City Commission candidates. To no one's surpise, Rick Bryant declined to participate in the questioning posed by the magazine. To my disappointment, Tony Domenech did as well. To my amazement, Ed Braddy did respond, but probably did himself more harm than good by doing so.

All candidates were in favor of changing the 2am alcohol cutoff and bar closing time that is foolishly being enforced (except for Braddy, of course!). All candidates were also in favor of GRU examining all posibilities on a new power plant before a plan is put into action (except for Braddy...surprise!). All candidates were also in favor of holding Wal-Mart's feet to the fire before giving them any concessions involving park land in northwest Gainesville in exchange for building a supercenter in the economically-strapped east side of town. Oh yeah...there was one candidate that was basically in favor of giving Mall Wort whatever it wanted - how many guesses do you need as to who that was?

Overall, I'm still glad that I'm not voting in the Domenech/Donovan/Belle race. I respect all three (3) candidates running there, albeit for totally different reasons. I will probably attend Jack Donovan's little party this weekend, nonetheless, particularly since the other 2 candidates haven't contacted me regarding their activities. The other 2 races (Braddy/Thrall and Bryant/Brinkman/"Gabriel"/McGraw -- see recommendations below) are no-brainers, although I believe Diyonne McGraw would be a quality City Commissioner if she simply possessed more resources.

Finally, tonight is the meetup for Democracy For America, the organization founded by DNC chair Howard Dean, at 7pm at Virtually Cuban. An ex-coworker of mine, Carlos Camejo, runs the place and makes some great Cuban dishes that makes you think you never left Miami. See you there!

The Enablers Rock opening for AVAIL!

2005-03-02T13:07:00.000-05:00

To thine own ruin be true!

The above is the credo for the mighty Enablers! Last night, they played Common Grounds Coffeehouse on a Spring Break weeknight when the rest of downtown Gainesville was desolate. The Enablers kicked out the jams (muthafucka!) with a great set, now featuring former guitarist Addison Burns (ex-Quit) on drums and bass. Also setting the fine vocal tone was Rob Coe (ex-Cell 63/Fay Wray/Naughty Puritans), who is rumored to be considering making Gainesville his home. (Can'tcha hear the buzz?)

Shame is that The Enablers should've been second on the bill. That dubious distinction instead went to the lukewarm Lucero, whose bassist looked so catatonic that it seemed as if he were ready to keel over at any time. Finally came the feature presentation: Richmond, VA's own AVAIL! These guys were great - lots of energy and hijinx onstage which resulted in a large mass of folk surging, pogoing, and otherwise having a slammin' good time at the front of the stage. On my way back from work this morning, I saw the AVAIL van and trailer pulling out onto 441 heading north. Safe travels, guys. Rob, call or email me, dammit!

Hunter S. Thompson as cannon fodder...it could happen!

2005-02-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

So, Johnny Depp and some of Hunter's other friends say they are trying to find a cannon that they can use to blast Hunter's cremated remains into the sky. Depp says he may be able to get one of the stunt cannons from his Pirates of the Caribbean film. Sheriff DeSalvo (prominently featured in his book Hey Rube) says it probably can be done.

For the full Denver Post story on this, click here.

Mahalo.

The Death of Gonzo: Hunter Stockton Thompson (1937-2005)

2005-02-21T16:32:00.000-05:00

As you can see 2 posts ago, I just finished reading his latest (final?) book. Well, this morning I wake up to this news. Shocking, to say the least.

I was aware of Thompson for quite some time but really started getting into his work around 1998 thanks to a professor of mine at the University of Florida by the name of Charles Burke. It was in a class entitled "Journalism as Literature," where we read the likes of Truman Capote, Tom Wolfe, and the Good Doctor himself. After reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I followed with seeing the film, I became curious for more of his writing. From there, I went to The Gonzo Papers, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, and lastly to Hey Rube. I think I shall journey to The Rum Diary next, since that is in the midst of being made into a film. If anything, today's events should inspire those working on said film to complete it more quickly.

Ol' HST was no doubt an inspiration to many and will continue to be for years to come. I'm sure Hunter's up there now enjoying a good cognac with some fine Afghan hashish. Mahalo, Hunter, mahalo...

One additional note: it seems that today, more people are concerned, at least online, about Paris Hilton's cell phone getting hacked and posted on the Internet than the death of one of the greatest literary journalists of our time. Is there any question as to why this country is in such deep shit? Someone pass me a shovel.

whoreculture's Still Got IT!

2005-02-20T15:27:00.000-05:00

Michelle and I went to see the venerable Gainesville band whoreculture last night at Common Grounds. These guys can still rock and can definitely still pack a room! The crowd was great - some old school folks here in town I hadn't seen in quite some time. Rich, the singer, was commenting that it was great to see CG's throw a 30 and over night, which wasn't too far off the mark. Many of us had enjoyed these guys for years. Let's hope they continue with more shows soon! Rock!

Off the bookshelf...

2005-02-18T17:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally finished Hunter S. Thompson's latest book, Hey Rube. It's a collection of his columns from ESPN.com's Page 2. A worthy read, needless to say. Now it's time to pick up George Lakoff's Don't Think of An Elephant. Howard Dean will most likely want is to do stuff, after all. ;-) Not like I'm sitting on my ass, anyway. I'm helping Rob Brinkman's campaign any way I can. After all, Mr. Godfather's Pizza has to go!

Well, I'm going to have some time off in the coming days, with President's Day and all. Let's take this time to remind ourselves where we are with our current one and what we need to do to make change happen for the future. If Iraq's not reason enough, just pick any other issue - you'll easily find something.

Back to yard work and perhaps some Miami-Florida baseball on Sunday. I talked myself out of going to tonight's game, especially since it's on TV. There's still plenty of opportunity to wear my UM shirt out to the ballpark and point and laugh at Chip Howard. After all, there's yard work to be done! Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....................

DD for V-Day: not as bad as you'd think.

2005-02-14T19:25:00.000-05:00

Well, my wife and I got back from Jacksonville last night, exactly one week after Super Sunday, where we went to see Duran Duran at the Jacksonville Veteran's Arena. This was the Valentine's Day gift she wanted, so that made my life easy. I did forget my earplugs, because as I predicted, the women in the audience put forth the loudest shrieks they could muster once the band took the stage. Not only that, but a groups of women on the arena floor were waving a sign that said "Moms Gone Wild." Wow.

While not as entertaining as last month's excellent Camper Van Beethoven show at Common Grounds, the Durannies were not as bad as I thought. Yes, they were HUGE teen idols back in the day, but they can actually play their instruments. They're real musicians! If anyone's still in the dark as to why the music biz is in such horrible shape these days, just compare the current "hot" acts to these guys. There's really no contest for quality here. Clive Davis, are you listening?

Brinkman and Thrall for Gainesville City Commission!

2005-02-10T17:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, last night's meeting has reminded me to bring this up. There will be elections next month for 3 of Gainesville's 7 City Commission seats. Most importantly, perhaps, is the at-large seat, which is voted on by all Gainesville residents. Rick Bryant, the encumbent, is up for re-election after siding with big business over his constituents time and time again, most notably in last year's Wal-Mart vote. Luckily he was out-voted and his vote was meaningless. Rob Brinkman is the challenger most fit to take his place this year. His ability to listen to the people and his tenacious concert for the future of Gainesville's environment make him a far-superior candidate than Rick Bryant and his faux-Democratic posturing.

Also up for election is the commission's arch-conservative Ed Braddy. This is a man who's got to go! UF geography professor Grant Thrall is the challenger here and the early returns are looking good on this one. Thrall has done many urban-planning consultations for the city and knows the meaning of responsible growth. Sad this seat is not in my district so I don't really have much of an effect here. (Our district commissioner, the superb Craig Lowe, is not up for re-election this year.)

The last seat up for grabs is a toughy. Most Dems get their ire up for a candidate like incumbent Tony Domenech, but I personally find it hard to do so. Out of all the times that I've emailed the commission on various issues, Domenech has been the ONE commissioner to respond, often showing sympathy to my cause. Plus, he was shown the error of his ways and voted AGAINST the Wal-Mart site at the headwaters of Hogtown Creek. The tough thing is that both of his challengers are great men as well. Mike Belle is determined to get the voices of the UF students heard, a highly admirable effort. Also, Jack Donovan, a former Reverend at the Gainesville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, is a religious leader you can really get behind. He walks the walk instead of preaching hate. Pat Robertson he is not! This one I'll have to keep myself out of. May the best man win!

Speaking of Pat Robertson, I was flipping though the channels a few weeks back when I passed ol' Pat speaking the words "George W. Bush." "This oughtta be good," I thought as I clicked back to the 700 Club. Robertson went on to say that the recent Tsunami disaster in Asia was basically God's way of punishing the Muslims for their blasphemy. This guy needs serious mental help! Enough said.

In summary: VOTE BRINKMAN! VOTE THRALL!

Join the ACDEC? Me?

2005-02-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess it has come to this. This country is in such a dangerous predicament that it cannot be avoided. I've put in my application to be an at-large member of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee. Tonight is yet another meeting, but they didn't receive my paperwork in time, no doubt. We'll see if I'm inducted next month. Bring it on! (Ooops, maybe a poor choice of words. Remember the last guy to use that as a slogan? Look where it got him!) Anyway, with Howard Dean poised to be the new chairman of the DNC, it looks like we're ready to kick some arse!

Kerry Down in Flames

2004-11-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

So, the election's over (for all intensive purposes) and it looks like Dumbya has gotten a second term. Sad. No matter what happens in Ohio, is there really any doubt who's gonna run away with this thing yet again? FEAR will rule again the next four years. Get ready. To me, the midterm 2006 elections can't come soon enough. Slainte!

Republican Family Values

2004-10-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

So, today at work, this woman comes up to the counter with her young son (around 4 or 5?). She's wearing an F$U baby doll top with a button that says "The First Family" and has a picture of Dumbya and the lady who was stupid enough to marry him. (Hello, can you please be wearing anything else to make me dislike you more?!?!) Anyway, she says she's mailing a package to her mother. On the package are several Bush-Cheney stickers and she asks me if it's okay to mail such things. "It's a free country," I felt like replying. The son asks why she's mailing such a thing when grandma is for John Kerry. "It's just a joke," the mother replies. "Why does grandma like Kerry?" the kid later says, to no response from the mother. Finally, as I'm wrapping up the transaction, the kid says, "You know, I don't think I like grandma." Nice. Republican family values at thier finest. The citizens of Williston are doomed!

Vote for Change!

2004-10-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a gathering down at Vision Farm in McIntosh. We saw parts of the "Vote for Change" concert in Washington, DC. Let's hope there will be change November 2nd (there, Eddie Vedder, I got the date right!), as I saw many, many people out there who are hoping for it. Kathleen, in the future, if you need a techy-type guy, please let me know in advance and I'll be more than happy to volunteer my services. :-)

G'night all...until next time.

Back after a long absence...

2004-10-10T23:52:00.000-04:00

Well, things have certainly changed much since my last post on here. We've had two hurricanes pass through Gainesville, each knocking down two sizeable pine trees in our backyard. Needless to say, playing Paul Bunyan almost everyday gets quite old. We purchased a chainsaw the week before Jeanne roared though here and the log-clearing job is well underway. I just hope we can finish before they stop hauling off all of the oversized logs.

I've been meaning to go canvassing sometime soon, but my schedule has simply not allowed for it. Getting every voter out of the polls this election season is vital, though. I hope to get to canvas soon for the likes of Kerry/Edwards, Dave Bruderly (for congress) and Betty Castor (for senate). Betty will be here in Gainesville this Friday for a fundraiser.

Speaking of public appearances, we haven't been short on those lately despite the hurricane stuff that's taken up most of our time. Michael Moore was here last Monday night speaking to a packed house at the O'Connell Center (12,000+!!!). Then, the effervescent Dick Cheney appeared at our local Harley Davidson dealership last Wednesday. Finally, The Dave Matthews Band sold out the O'Connell Center with their "Vote for Change Tour" stop here with Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, and others.

There's also a slew of great people who have been fighting the good fight leading up to the November 2nd election. Dave Bruderly, whom I mentioned above, has his own blog about current events. If you're in the Sixth Congressional District in Florida, hopefully you'll give him your vote:

Bruderly For Congress

That's about it for now. I believe I will at least get some refreshments together and take them down to the local Kerry/Edwards HQ...it's the least I can do towards bringing some semblance of our country back again.

Ta-ta for now. I'll try not to be such a stranger...

Rush in Tampa...the end of my week of concerts.

2004-08-02T23:01:00.000-04:00

Much continued busy-ness here, with a primering job of the family room just begun yesterday after getting back from a weekend in St. Pete with John, Pete, and Mark. We stayed at my former roommate's place. She wasn't around, having taken her daughter to Disney World for the weekend. Knowing our trials and tribulations, it was probably for the best. We did party with her husband Dan, though. Seems like a cool guy. They definitely have a mackin' pad -- thirtysomethings living among retirees. Gotta love it!

Rush was great on their 30th Anniversary Tour. Cowie went the night before in West Palm, where he caught a unique show since it was Geddy Lee's birthday. Tampa's show was great though. Before we left, I saw a bit of a campaign speech that Dubya was giving in Missouri. All these ppl were there chanting "four more years!" while he told lie after lie. Like "most Americans get their health insurance from their work" and that high health care costs were the result of frivilous lawsuits. Whatever!

On the way down to Tampa, after picking up some Burrito Bros. along the way, we caught a bit of a debate between the 3 democratic candidates running for Bob Graham's senate seat. I'm still totally pulling for Betty Castor, but Deutch and Penelas did have their moments in the sun. Betty's mention of putting more aid on the table for grad students caught great cheers from everyone in the car. Maybe then I can finally finish my masters here at UF. Someday.

That's about it. A week of work lies ahead, but there is yet another concert this Thursday: Jay Farrar at Common Grounds. Since Michelle will be out of town at a conference, I'll have a spare ticket. Any takers? ;-) Also, my friends Ron & Mimi are hosting a presentation on the asian elephant on Friday. Should be worth going to as well.

Off to bed and then to a week of once again going postal and primering the fam room. Joy!

Sarah McLachlan in Atlanta...wow!

2004-07-29T02:54:00.000-04:00

[We also went to see the Curiosa festival in Tampa last Sunday night. I will post on that as I get time. Too many concerts in one week for me. ;-p Rush on Friday. Woohoo!]

Well, now that I got a few hours sleep, I figure I can post a bit on last night's show. Sarah's show
was phenomenal. It was great to meet and hang out with some new fumbler friends. Lora and her
brother Matt showed up at our meeting place (Mama Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant in downtown
Atlanta) first. They drove all the way from Huntsville, AL (not a far as we did from Gainesville, but still a haul!). We also got to meet Anya and Stoneface. It was great to really meet both of them for the first time. We did almost meet Anya once when we were on the UT campus in Knoxville, but we we're patrons of the rival football team in town, so we more than understand. Really we do. ;-)

After Ninfa's, we hoofed it over to the Philips Arena for the main event. All of us picked up our tickets and we were all in the first five rows! :-o Stoneface and Anya had the best seats, with second row center, but we weren't bad either with row 5 stage left.

Sarah's band was superb, playing a whole slew of songs from her last 3 studio albums. We did have glowsticks for the opportune moments (since there are no more raves here in Gainesville, ya gotta use 'em for something, right?), and Sarah seemed happy to see them. Her band was in fine form, with veteran bassist Brian Minato and husband/drummer Ash Sood holding the rhythm down. Guitarists Sean Ashby and Luke Doucet added panache (wow, when was the last time I used that word?) to Sarah's performance. Keyboardists Dave Kershaw and Vince Jones along with vocalist Kathryn Rose rounded out the lineup. All except the latter are veterans of Sarah's band, either of the recent or distant past. Rose is a welcome addition, adding a solid personality to the mix. As Lora mentioned in her blog, Sarah's guitar pick drop was quite humorous for those who caught it, but one of the most memorable moments came during the first encore when Sarah had a bit of fun with glitter. During "Ice Cream," Rose was standing in front of us with a small cup in her hand while she was singing. I immediately thought it was an adult beverage of some kind, especially after reading the exploits on her blog! :-p At the end of the song, I found out its true purpose, however, when Rose cast it to the sky, letting glitter fly across the stage. When Sarah returned to center stage, she picked up a piece of glitter, licked it, and stuck it in the middle of her forehead! That's where it remained the remainder of the show. I wish I was able to get a picture or two of her after that point, but ushers were being quite adamant against the use of flash photography, which was really understandable from the musicians' points of view. I did manage to click around and get a few pictures and will show them soon.

For now, though, it's back to watching the Democratic Convention roll call. I do have some parting words for the folks we met yesterday evening, however:

Anya - glad to see your strong support (and tight t-shirt :-p) for John Kerry. Let's make it a reality in November! We'll buy you a pint at McSorley's this fall if all goes well.

Lori - it was great seeing you as well. Your brother Matt seemed like a very cool guy. Hopefully we can do it again real soon.

Stoneface - the enigma is finally revealed! :-) Thanks so much for making our humble fumblerumble. ;-) Sorry you guys got stuck with those xtra tix, especially considering their location. :-o I see you enjoyed the show immensely, though. Hopefully you won't wait another 15 years for another concert! ;-)

That's all for now. G'nite all!

A beginning...

2004-07-13T21:37:00.000-04:00

With all the talk about this blog thing, I figured I'd give it a whirl. I'll post more info as I have time. Oh yeah...working 6 days a week sucks ass!