Pictures From The Road
For the past month I have been traveling across the U.S. with a band called Jack's Mannequin. They just finished recording an album that should be out this fall and that means lots of touring to support it. We have been out for a month but we have 12 more weeks this summer/fall. The group of guys on tour are amazing and always live life to the fullest. So far there has been lots of time out on the water and even more time in local eating and drinking establishments.
MORE PICTURES COMING SOON!!!!!!
MORE PICTURES COMING SOON!!!!!!
| Travel
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8th Annual Stuart House Benefit
This year I was lucky enough to be able to attend The John Varvatos 8th Annual Stuart House Benefit held in Hollywood, CA. Stuart House is a center that provides support to abused children. The benefit held a live and silent auction that raised over $500,000 that went directly to UCLA Rape Treatment Center's Stuart House. Entertainment included live music by Frankie Perez and K.D. Lang as well as guest DJ performances by Shepard Fairey. These were not the only celebrities seen at this years event, others included Perry Farrell, Brooke Burke and many more.
| Travel
The Land Down Under
I am still floating on a cloud of disbelief as I sit and think about how amazing my latest trip overseas was. The trip that started in Australia and continued on to Japan only lasted 12 days but felt like a month. I guess thats what happens when you take full advantage of your time and realize that the expression i'll sleep when i'm dead won't escape your mind.
Brisbane, QLD was the first stop on the 5 city tour just a week after the major flooding. It seemed as if the town did a great job at recovering although there were still signs of water damage on many of the buildings downtown. The river that cuts through the middle of the city was polluted from all of the water run off through the streets but it was very easy to look past that and appreciate the beauty of the city. Our Australian Tour Manager, T Money (Tyson) made sure that we experienced good local spots and didn't get caught up in the tourist traps.
There was nothing better than a nice breakfast and good fresh juice from a local cafe after a 14 hour flight that felt like 18. The Little Larder was just that, an amazing small cafe that had amazing coffee, great juice, good brekkie with local flare. When sowing up to our room at the Oaks Charlotte Towers, we didn't think that the trip could get much better. A hotel room as big as my house, with 180 degree views of the city from my balcony was a perfect way to start the trip and a great place to throw an after party. Although the after party was small, it was on the top 10 hotel after party's in Brisbane that night.
Stop #2, Sydney, NSW. Just when I thought that it was going to be hard to top the amazing experience in Brisbane I soon realized that the excitement two days prior was only a solid 5 on the scale. Sydney started out with an unforgettable thai dinner at the Opium Den in Potts Point with close friends and conversation about new music and the music industry in whole. Not only did I get to try new thai food that I haven't experienced in the past, but I was also informed of some great new music to be on the lookout for such as Art vs. Science and others that we will talk about in the future.
After seeing a nearly sold out show at The Metro my travel partner "Lil Wing" and I decided to see what the intense and partly sleazy area of Kings Cross had to offer some American tourists like ourselves. Making a couple laps up and down the main street was not impressing us, especially with guys in suits trying to get us to come into every strip club in the area, Im guessing 27 strip clubs but who's counting? We found ourselves taking the back road home and stumbling across what appeared to be an old victorian style house with people coming and going. Of course this cool looking, non flashy house was exactly where we wanted to be. Walking inside "Tonic" was almost like we just discovered the holy land and it was right in our backyard. The DJ was playing hit after hit and the dance floor was packed full of beautiful people. Drinks were cheap (well, cheaper than other places, still expensive) and the bartenders loved us, it was like some sort of dream land. As the night went on, LW and myself looked around and noticed that we were the only ones left on the dance floor and it was probably time to go home. That night instantly made Sydney a 7 which is better than a 5 but still room for improvement.
Probably the most memorable night of my trip was in Melbourne, VIC. I wouldn't say it was the most adventuress of our stops but there is something to be said about hanging out with some close San Diego friends that I haven't seen in years. It was nice to be able to go out with old friends in a foreign land and discover new places. After only living in Melbourne for a few months, they were quite popular around the bars.
The flight from Melbourne to Adelaide was quite the experience. We ended up sitting next to the band Phoenix and talking about some of the highlights in Melbourne. As it turns out, they were playing their only solo show in Australia on our day off and they invited us to go. Like any smart american, we gladly accepted the offer and exchanged information so we could get tickets to the sold out event.
The Phoenix show was amazing to say the least. It was one of the better sounding and better looking shows that I have been to in quite some time. You could hear every detail from every instrument and although you couldn't see the bands faces to well, the light show was stimulating.
The next day was our turn to shine. We went to a show at Fowlers Live, and after we all went out to a carnival. This is the first time I have seen a carnival filled with all adults, I guess having a bar every 25' helps keep the interest of the locals. Dodge em (bumper) cars were the highlight of the night for some, but mine would have to be the very mellow ferris wheel. Although, this being our last night in Australia we all agreed we would have to go out with a bang, and that we did. Lucky for us, we found an all night dance club "Sugar" that kept us up well past our bed time.
Brisbane, QLD was the first stop on the 5 city tour just a week after the major flooding. It seemed as if the town did a great job at recovering although there were still signs of water damage on many of the buildings downtown. The river that cuts through the middle of the city was polluted from all of the water run off through the streets but it was very easy to look past that and appreciate the beauty of the city. Our Australian Tour Manager, T Money (Tyson) made sure that we experienced good local spots and didn't get caught up in the tourist traps.
There was nothing better than a nice breakfast and good fresh juice from a local cafe after a 14 hour flight that felt like 18. The Little Larder was just that, an amazing small cafe that had amazing coffee, great juice, good brekkie with local flare. When sowing up to our room at the Oaks Charlotte Towers, we didn't think that the trip could get much better. A hotel room as big as my house, with 180 degree views of the city from my balcony was a perfect way to start the trip and a great place to throw an after party. Although the after party was small, it was on the top 10 hotel after party's in Brisbane that night.
Stop #2, Sydney, NSW. Just when I thought that it was going to be hard to top the amazing experience in Brisbane I soon realized that the excitement two days prior was only a solid 5 on the scale. Sydney started out with an unforgettable thai dinner at the Opium Den in Potts Point with close friends and conversation about new music and the music industry in whole. Not only did I get to try new thai food that I haven't experienced in the past, but I was also informed of some great new music to be on the lookout for such as Art vs. Science and others that we will talk about in the future.
After seeing a nearly sold out show at The Metro my travel partner "Lil Wing" and I decided to see what the intense and partly sleazy area of Kings Cross had to offer some American tourists like ourselves. Making a couple laps up and down the main street was not impressing us, especially with guys in suits trying to get us to come into every strip club in the area, Im guessing 27 strip clubs but who's counting? We found ourselves taking the back road home and stumbling across what appeared to be an old victorian style house with people coming and going. Of course this cool looking, non flashy house was exactly where we wanted to be. Walking inside "Tonic" was almost like we just discovered the holy land and it was right in our backyard. The DJ was playing hit after hit and the dance floor was packed full of beautiful people. Drinks were cheap (well, cheaper than other places, still expensive) and the bartenders loved us, it was like some sort of dream land. As the night went on, LW and myself looked around and noticed that we were the only ones left on the dance floor and it was probably time to go home. That night instantly made Sydney a 7 which is better than a 5 but still room for improvement.
Probably the most memorable night of my trip was in Melbourne, VIC. I wouldn't say it was the most adventuress of our stops but there is something to be said about hanging out with some close San Diego friends that I haven't seen in years. It was nice to be able to go out with old friends in a foreign land and discover new places. After only living in Melbourne for a few months, they were quite popular around the bars.
The flight from Melbourne to Adelaide was quite the experience. We ended up sitting next to the band Phoenix and talking about some of the highlights in Melbourne. As it turns out, they were playing their only solo show in Australia on our day off and they invited us to go. Like any smart american, we gladly accepted the offer and exchanged information so we could get tickets to the sold out event.
The Phoenix show was amazing to say the least. It was one of the better sounding and better looking shows that I have been to in quite some time. You could hear every detail from every instrument and although you couldn't see the bands faces to well, the light show was stimulating.
The next day was our turn to shine. We went to a show at Fowlers Live, and after we all went out to a carnival. This is the first time I have seen a carnival filled with all adults, I guess having a bar every 25' helps keep the interest of the locals. Dodge em (bumper) cars were the highlight of the night for some, but mine would have to be the very mellow ferris wheel. Although, this being our last night in Australia we all agreed we would have to go out with a bang, and that we did. Lucky for us, we found an all night dance club "Sugar" that kept us up well past our bed time.
| Travel
Gypsy And The Cat
In honor of my trip to the land down under for the Soundwave Festival, I bring to you Melbourne's own, Gypsy & The Cat. The Electropop duo started making beats together about three years ago in a garage in Victoria. Different from previous projects, the band slows things down a bit to bring more hooky dance synth sounds and poetic lyrics. Huge radio support as well as interest from Mark Ronson and other respected musicians prove that this band deserves all the credit they receive.
| Music
Freezing Man
Edmonton, Alberta's 1st annual Freezing Man (I get it, like burning man but not at all) festival was held this year on January 29th at Northlands Expo Centre just outside of downtown Edmonton. The theme for this festival seemed to focus on dance music from more than 8 bands and 10 DJs while providing the punters visual stimulation with 10' video walls & spheres, colorful light shows, and glow in the dark costumes. Aside from the ravesque gimmicks such as carnival rides and glow sticks, the musical talent was quite impressive. The Canadian line up included bands such as The Five Ghosts
Stars, Chromeo, Galore
Dragonette, Major Laser, Broken Social Scene and others that provided hours of dancing which kept the crowd warm despite the -10 F weather outside.
Stars, Chromeo, GaloreDragonette, Major Laser, Broken Social Scene and others that provided hours of dancing which kept the crowd warm despite the -10 F weather outside. 
DOM
Worcester, Massachusetts home town hero DOM is a young pop-rock trio that combine huge guitar hooks with pop synth sounds to create an ear friendly songs that you want to sing along to. New song releases such as Jesus & Living in America are perfect songs to add to road trip soundtracks or maybe just crank it up while your getting ready in the morning to give you something to dance to. Living in America was also selected as one of the top songs of 2010 by Spin Magazine. These hockey fans are proud to have their song Bochicha as the official face off song for the Worcester Sharks hockey team.
| Music
Bryan Iguchi
Professional snowboarder Bryan "Guch" Iguchi is well known for his skills on the mountain as well as his many appearances in popular snowboard films. As we know this man for what he does on the snow, I would like to pay a little respect for his art without his board on. Bryan's art portrays the change in seasons and the beauty of outdoor life. Some of Guch's masterpieces are painted on wood to create a rustic element while keeping a natural approach. You can find a good selection of Iguchi's art on display at Elevated Grounds in Jackson Hole, WY but you can also find prints for sale online. To see more stunning imagery go to iguchiblog.com
| Snowboarding, Art
Polar Bear Plunge
This year I had the privilege to experience the Coeur d'Alene Polar Bear Plunge. Of course I was not in the water as I am not that crazy but I was on the beach filming the hundreds of people who participated in the bone shivering swim.
Unofficially started in 1978, the Polar Bear Plunge is held on Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene, ID on January 1st every year. The parade of costumes, the excitement of the crowd and the free coffee and hot chocolate made the 14 degree weather feel like it was at least 16 degrees. Each year swimmers in states such as New York, Minnesota, Washington and Idaho jump in water with temperatures as low as 35 degrees and jump back out even faster.
Unofficially started in 1978, the Polar Bear Plunge is held on Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene, ID on January 1st every year. The parade of costumes, the excitement of the crowd and the free coffee and hot chocolate made the 14 degree weather feel like it was at least 16 degrees. Each year swimmers in states such as New York, Minnesota, Washington and Idaho jump in water with temperatures as low as 35 degrees and jump back out even faster.
| Travel
Strange Things Happen
Author Stewart Copeland, is best known for his unique style of drumming with the band The Police. He has been ranked as one of the best drummers of all time by Rolling Stone for his detailed rock-influenced drumming. In 1977 Stewart founded The Police with lead singer Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani and became one of the top bands of the 1980's. Later in his career he went on to compose soundtracks for film and play with such artists as Les Claypool and Trey Anastasio in Oysterhead. Copeland's book, Strange Things Happen will change the way you view The Police and better yet music.
"Stewart's one of the most interesting and singularly creative entities in music today, and an important part of one of the most influential bands of the last (and current) century. A must-read for anyone who wants to be inspired to create." - Jerry Roe Rorick (Drummer / Musician)
"Stewart's one of the most interesting and singularly creative entities in music today, and an important part of one of the most influential bands of the last (and current) century. A must-read for anyone who wants to be inspired to create." - Jerry Roe Rorick (Drummer / Musician)
Gayngs
I’m sure by now most of you have heard of the band Gayngs, the trippy, vibe indie band from Minneapolis. But for those of you that don’t, check out their album Relayted. They mix pulsing keyboards
with a great rhythm section and lots of vocal delay and reverb and the occasional tasteful vocoder. The retro but contemporary band consists of 23 musicians that play at the same time while holding together a very tight groove and vocal harmonies.
with a great rhythm section and lots of vocal delay and reverb and the occasional tasteful vocoder. The retro but contemporary band consists of 23 musicians that play at the same time while holding together a very tight groove and vocal harmonies. | Music