ok so its friday and I'm tired and want to go home and eat some free fresh food...a turkey sandwich with some mashed potatoes...then practice with Racecar Radar and then probably drink tonight...not heavily, just socially and recreationally...
wow, I checked out a live acoustic performance of Death Cab for Cutie over at Spin.com...heres the url if anyone is interested in checking it out...
Death Cab at Spin
they sound really good here...unlike the rainer maria performance...I kind of thought they didnt do as well and the acoustics of the room didnt work to their advantage...
so anyways, I'm off for the weekend...
there are a couple of discs that I have been listening recently...lets list them...
1.Ghosts and Vodka- s/t full length wow, this is an amazing disc...probably one of the best cds I've picked up in a while...great guitar work and interesting changes...most def.
2.Boards of Canada-In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country this is a really nice disc to chill to and I love to just wake up and look out the window to the first song on this little ep...most def.
3.Owls-s/t-new incarnation of Cap'n Jazz without the services of Davey Van Bohlen of the Promise Ring...really cool funky indie rock stuff and some interesting song writing as usual from the Kinsella brothers...but I have to admit, right now, I really like the Ghosts and Vodka a bit better...most def.
4.Elliot Smith-s/tfirst one off of Kill Rock Stars and all on 4-track...wow I really like the intimacy of the hiss...why? I have no idea...I guess it makes me feel comfortable for some reason...yeah, actually....yeah...most def.
5.Wheat-Hope and Adams an old favorite...I have to break it out to get a perspective on the new record of theirs that comes out in a month or two...this record gets me every time at some point on the disc..could be later on or it could be during the 2nd or 3rd song...but either way, its a lifesaver...most def.
also, if you are looking for the most pretentious scene in the american music scene, look to this site
polyvinyl messageboard
ok, I'll probably talk later...
Dino
1)yeah my car was broken into...its totalled and thats all everyone needs to know...highlights include smashed cds on the floor of the inside of my car...sad, sad day...
2)I moved...yep...3/4 of Alto Heceta are now located on the southeast side of Iowa City...very good neighborhood for bands to be practicing in...hey Trollies!
The only problem was that during the few days we were moving in...
3)It was hotter than I can ever remember Iowa City being...115-120 degrees with the heat index...the humidity was just horrendeous...you could walk outside and immediately start sweating...nice...beautiful days to be walking across town...which was exactly what I was doing...no car = sweat my ass off.
4)yeah we played a show at gabes oasis...early show, fun hanging out with our buds Tekulvi, we played with a friend of ours from Speed of Sauce, Phil Moore.
The other show was with our friends Mil Milliganos, also from Chicago. Great guys and fun times were had...afterhours were much better than our performance...I guess that happens sometimes...
5)so yeah there are two other women, I mean, musical adventures in my life these days...
Racecar Radar
this is a band that is seriously still hatching...we have about 5 or 6 ideas or songs (I think thats what you would call them) that are pretty good...the band consists of Phil Moore of Speed of Sauce, Nick Burd of Burn Disco Burn, and Matt and I from Alto Heceta. So far we havent really settled into permanent roles just yet...But what I can say is that I think its going to be a pretty fun band...the writing has been easy and laid back...we'll see what happens...
The Brave Firefighter
this is basically me and an acoustic guitar...simple pop songs with nothing to say...let me rephrase that...simple pop structures with vocal melody...its an idea I came up with a while back...Its not folk music in the sense of its lyrical intent and its not rock on acoustic in its lyrical intent...its lyrically and sometimes melodically improvised vocally...acutally I'm not sure if it will stay that way but I liked the idea and I like playing by myself acoustically so it works out for now...But either way, I'm playing out every so often, so if you are reading this, and you are in town, come check it out if here of me playing out...I'm thinking of doing a quick recording soon also so I'll keep everyone posted...
Lastly, I want to remind everyone in Iowa City and the surrounding area that there are a couple of shows coming up that should be great...
August 29th (wed) The Faint @the Green Room $6 admission
Sept 11th (tues) Mates of State, Burn Disco Burn, and Racecar Radar @Gabes Oasis $5 admission
Also, I heard that Mates of State are releasing their next album on Polyvinyl Records...hmmmm...sounds good to me :)
Anyways, lets get on to more top 5s
top five ways to screw up the pronunciation of our band name
1.alto heck-ta
2.alto he-kada
3.alto heck-a-da
4.alta heck-edo
5.avacado
top 5 songs of the week
1.Our Dying Brains- Grandaddy
2.Maybelle- Ida
3.Renaissance- All Natural
4.The Surgeon's House- Burning Airlines
5.Back of your head- Cat Power
term of the day- super space out day
term for tomorrow- Burn Disco Burn
term for saturday's show- hotel rooms and their conviences
I have a radio show tonight from 7-9 on KRUI so if your in the area turn in...
so I'm sitting there in the upstairs of the Pizza place staring out the window and I noticed some graffitti on the side of the window frame...decent stuff but what I realized is that graffitti makes life just a bit more interesting...I mean in some places where you might be bored and kind of just zoning out, you have graffitti to look at...It might be krappy or doesnt make sense but its there and its some entertainment that is sometimes more interesting than any paper...
thats it...
top 5 graffitti spots in Iowa City
1.Deadwood bathroom...great stuff..
2.Gabes Oasis upstairs bathroom (no real writings, but qualifies because of the amount of stickers and markings)
3.IMU downstairs boys bathroom on the south end
4.The Green Room girls bathroom (I know 'cause I use to clean the place when I worked there)
5.Joe's Place
thats about all for today...hopefully I'll see everyone at the show tonight...bye
top 5 things to do today...(in chronological order)
1.get food (I am yet to eat today...I'm thinking sub shop)
2.strings...guitar...the drill...
3.interview -KRUI...4pm
4.load out-in, sc
5.show
top 5 people of the day
1.Tyson Chandler
2.Sarah Burk
3.JB (wow that slam on Mark...ouch)
4.Cory Ingle
5.the p's (thanks for dinner...you guys own a buick...thats funny)
top 5 words of the day
1.preservation
2.early
3.starving
4.food
5.drooling
ok, I'll talk later...after food...
Damn it, Pete Yorn is playing in Chicago at Schubas in July and its already sold out...and he's doing a 2 night stand!
oh well, I'll at least see him at Schubas when he comes back on the 18th of August...or maybe in Iowa City on the 21st!
top 5 bands who "in the end, will save my life by keeping me sane."
1.Azure Ray
2.Rainer Maria
3.Cat Power
4.Wheat
5.Seam
I was just listening to KRUI and they are promoting the shit out of the show tomorrow...mmm, tasty...
look for a suprise tomorrow night from us...it might be pretty cool...
ok so I really like lists so I'm going to do a bunch of top 5s...here we go...
top 5 songs of the week
1.Knives Out- Radiohead
2.Blizzard of '78- Ida
3.Teeth Like God's Shoeshine- Modest Mouse
4.On Your Side- Pete Yorn
5.The Brides Have Hit Glass- Guided By Voices
top 5 songs of the week that I am somewhat ashamed to say I kind of like
1.The Rock Show- Blink 182
2.Unforgiven- The Go-Gos (new song)
3.New Missy Elliott single
4.thank you- Dido
5.Angel- Sarah McLachlin
top 5 Beatles songs of all time
1.Here comes the sun
2.I'm only sleeping
3.Sexy Sadie
4.Fixing a hole
5.Dear Prudence
top 5 Beatles records in my book
1.Abby Road
2.White Album
3.Sgt. Peppers
4.Revolver
5.Let it Be
top 5 Tim Borkowsky quotes
1."no I agree the tower should be in the center of the city...oh shit."
2.""hmmm...I'm not so sure about that..."
3."what? did I spill some on my shirt?"
4."hey Cinnimon (wave)"
5."hmmm...not bad..."
ok so I'm running out of steam but I will post more frequently and with more top fives...
Are you guys like kickass to talk to and stuff or are you dicks?
Dino: Collectively, I think (and I hope I speak for everone here) we are more of in the approachable yet non-chalant-come-off-like-we-are-ass-donkeys-type. We just figured that being "pretentious" would make our music that much better...pretentiousness can be a great attribute, you know? I mean, it makes it a lot easier for me to find my way into comfortable conversations where I am talking about stuff that I wish I knew more about but I am just as full of shit as the person I am talking to...yeah the "emo" scene is great.
Cheetos or Fritos?
Dino: well, cheetos have more mass to them and I personally have always liked air in my snacks...it makes me burp more often. Thats a good thing isnt it? God no wonder I write so many sad songs...
Whats the craziest thing you guys have collectively done?
Dino: Well, we went to a party last year and if you dont already know us, we are rabid Slayer fans...I mean slayer just flat out fuckin rules...I mean they kick so much fuckin ass dude...its just not right...they just make people get nuts...anyways, didnt mean to get sidetracked...back to the story....we were at this party last year and we were all getting pretty drunk and stuff and the night was winding down, yet Tim (the most raging of alcoholics in our band) decided that the party wasnt fiesty enough (like I said, we like to fight...a lot) so he decided that we needed a little slayer for the cd player at this party...and since we have at least one slayer cd on us at all times (its a tradition), we decided to throw it in...Let me tell ya bad move...Matt our drummer started seriously THRASHING the god damn place...like body slamming couches and thowing tables and shit...this behavior scared me for a short minute, then I increasingly became more and more violent myself...next thing I knew everyone in the place started going nuts! People are jumpin out of windows, eating carpet, ripping handles off the refridgerator, breaking glass and cutting things...I just got so rilled up that I went and got a chainsaw out of the garage and sawed a couch in half...Tim just wouldnt stop bitting shit...he was eating bicycle spokes...and it was all due to slayer...when we left that party, all I could say was "slayer fuckin rules." I guess that would be the craziest thing we had ever done...
Stay tuned for more of...
"The FAQs!"
Why do you guys play such wussy music and whine like babies on stage? Do you have digestion problems?
Dino: Actually, one of the guys in the band does have a digestion in the literal sense...we always make fun of him whenever we go out to eat together...its quite entertaining. As far as playing wussy music, I think its just most natural for people who like beat people up on the streets to make music that is "wussy." I mean after a long day of kicking people's collective asses on the given random street on the given random day, we just like to unwind and show our sensitive side you know...I mean I like to show off my manliness a lot but there ARE times when I feel like showing a more emotional side...I guess thats why deep down under our tough skin we are "wussies."
Do you guys "party?"
Dino: hmmm..."party" ehh? In what type of sense are we using this word? I mean dude, we "party" but I'm not sure if we "party." there needs to be clearification here....
If you were to choose if your songs were about girls or chicks, what would it be?
Dino:dude, I have never written any lyric about a girl....its all about the chicks...who dates "girls?" Who even gives "girls" the time of day? If I wanted to write about a "girl" I would write about my little cousin or something...next question...
MORE FUN FAQs TO COME IN THE FUTURE!!!