POWERBRRRD debut tonight at Mercy Lounge
August 31, 2009
Hey people. I’ve been slacking lately… mainly because work/life/everything got 150% busier over the last couple of weeks. But I’m taking 5 min today to make sure you know about two awesome things.
Tonight is the official debut of POWERBRRRD, my new band. We’re playing the 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge hosted by Ashley Spurgeon. We’re celebrating her birthday (which also happens to be the day Caligula’s birth…). It’s still Seth Graves and me, but we’ve added Brandon Jazz from the Armed Forces to the lineup. Josh is still around, but about to be a new daddy, so at the moment we’re a power trio while he focuses on family. Josh’s mojo will be added back into the mix soon enough. Our sound is really nothing like Tigers Con Queso, so wash any preconceptions you may have based on the old band. The only similarity is Seth’s voice. So please do come down to Mercy Lounge tonight. It’s FREE, and will feature other acts such as Daniel Pujole and Some Beaus (former Meemaw frontman), Denny and the Jets (members of Meemaw and JEFF), Max and the Wild Things, Electric Mayhem (Matt Friction, Dave Paulson, and some others…), and Gunslinger. A good time is guaranteed.
The other awesome thing to report is that I made a trip to All Seasons on saturday and picked up my first home brewing kit. Yesterday we did the boiling/brewing process and the fermentation has now begun. The recipe I used was for an American-style Pale Ale, so hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll have a ton of beer to give away.
New Weezer song/Next Big Nashville
August 26, 2009
If you know me at all you know that I will always be a huge Weezer fan. Rivers Cuomo and Kurt Cobain shaped my childhood more than you can imagine. Hell, I practically learned to play guitar by learning almost every song on the “Blue album” and Pinkerton. It’s widely accepted that Weezer has been in a downward spiral post-Pinkerton. This has been a difficult pill for me to swallow, but I accept that they’ll never be what they used to be. All that being said, they have a new song streaming on their website and it doesn’t totally suck. But I said the same thing about the song “Pork & Beans” from their last effort the “Red album.” P&B is about as close as they’ll ever get to the Blue/Pinkerton-era sound, but the rest of that album was basically just as bad as Make Believe. I hope this is not the case with this next record, but at this point my philosophy for new Weezer material is “hope for the best, but expect the worst.” Seriously though, this new song “I Want You To” is worth a listen, at the very least. Stream it at their website.
Next Big Nashville is quickly approaching and it’s definitely time to buy your wristband or VIP badge. The pre-sale is already over, and ticket prices will only continue to rise as it gets closer. Go the website and order yours now! A partial lineup has been released and it includes some seriously heavy-hitters. Here are just a few:
Lucero
Jemina Pearl
David Vandervelde
Heypenny
The Protomen
American Bang
Madi Diaz
How I Became the Bomb
Howlies
Colour Revolt
The Non-Commissioned Officers
Mikky Ekko
Jeremy Lister
Phosphorescent
Cortney Tidwell
Caitlin Rose
Pico Vs Island Trees
The Clutters
The Scene had some glitches with their database, but they finally have the photobooth pics from the Nashville Cream party up. Check ’em out: Part 1 and Part 2.
It’s been a while since I mentioned Hipster Runoff. I highly recommend reading Carles’ take on the apparently resurgent trend of “sagging.”
Here’s an interesting chart showing the frequency of the most common elements/objects featured on the cover of fantasy books. Of course swords are in the lead, but I’m quite surprised that unicorns are dead last…. (Via Snarkmarket)
RIP Stacy Fleeman and Ted Kennedy.
Chicxulub challenges/rocket fuel made of ice/eclectic astronauts
August 24, 2009
The theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out from an asteroid impact near the modern-day Yucatan Peninsula is beginning to face major challenges. There’s no doubt that a huge impact caused the Chicxculub Crater, but some recent findings suggest that the impact may have occurred some 300,000 years earlier than originally thought. This comes as a second blow to the impact theory, with the first being the discovery/dating of the Deccan Traps in India. This gigantic volcanic feature is the result of a huge eruption that is believed to have lasted around 30,000 years. Can you imagine a massive volcano erupting for 30,000 years and covering an area equivalent to 1/2 of modern India with lava? Trust me, something on that scale is hard for the human mind to comprehend, but that much volcanic ash and gas in the atmosphere would’ve had a devastating effect on the ecosystem, and almost certainly played a major role in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Get ready for science textbooks to be re-written, because the asteroid impact theory is about to see the same fate as the dinosaurs themselves. (Via Daily Galaxy)
NASA recently teamed up with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to test a new, Earth-friendly type of solid rocket fuel. I’m not exactly sure of the details, but somehow they’ve managed to make rocket fuel out of aluminum powder and ice. Yes ice… as in frozen water. The secret apparently is that the aluminum powder is so finely ground that it’s considered “nanoscale.” The nanoscale aluminum has so much surface area in contact with the water ice that the exothermic reaction when it burns is more efficient than normal solid rocket fuel, which is usually powdered aluminum (not nanoscale) mixed with an oxidizer such as ammonium perchlorate and a binding agent. Seriously though, who would’ve ever thought you could make rocket fuel out of ice and aluminum? It just sounds crazy, but it’s true. (Via EurekAlert)
When you think of the type of person who becomes an astronaut, you don’t typically think of race car drivers or musicians, but two of the astronauts about to launch on Space Shuttle Discovery tomorrow morning are just that- a former off-road truck racer and a drummer. Check out this Space.com article to find out more about Commander Rick Struckrow, formerly a Baja off-road race driver, Pilot Kevin Ford who is also a drummer, and several other astronauts who come from surprising backgrounds.
Nashville Cream’s 3rd b-day/Avatar trailer/Stacy Fleeman
August 21, 2009
As I mentioned earlier this week, the biggest event you should be concerned about this weekend is the Nashville Cream’s 3rd birthday bash at Mercy Lounge. The Features are headlining and will be playing mostly, if not all, new songs. Also playing are Kindercastle and The Billy Goats. I’ll be doing a photobooth, there will be lots of prizes to be won, free screen-printed show posters, and there will be a limited amount of free food to be had. All this for a a measly $5? How could you possibly say no? The thing I’m most excited about is hearing new Features songs. Props to Boss Construction for the posters.
Speaking of the Scene, Tracy Moore has a cover story in this week’s issue on Caitlin Rose, Tristen, and Those Darlins. It’s a great read and I strongly suggest you pick up a copy if you haven’t.
This isn’t related to the rest of the items in this post, but definitely worth mentioning- James Cameron’s new 3D sci-fi/fantasy film Avatar will hit theaters this December, and the first trailer was released through Apple yesterday. Go watch it in HD at Apple website. Your eyes will thank you.
In some much more depressing news, I was extremely saddened Wednesday to find out that the End’s doorman Stacy Fleeman is in the hospital on life support. He was found unresponsive, then put into a medically-induced coma which he then came out of, but apparently has little to no brain activity. Stacy is one of the good ones. He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met in Nashville and is a tireless supporter of the music scene. His label Spat! Records is just now starting to become financially successful and now this… it’s absolutely tragic. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. We should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
A picture is worth a thousand words
August 20, 2009
Between work at Vandy and the Scene being sold to South Comm, I simply don’t have the energy nor the willpower/brainpower to write here this week like I usually do. So I must thank Yewknee for linking to this amazing website called Them Thangs today, where I discovered this absolutely wonderful image. (Warning: some of that blog is NSFW.) A picture is truly worth a thousand words.
I’m finally back! The Features!
August 18, 2009
Getting caught up on life after a week-long vacation is quite a task, and unfortunately this blog has been low on the list of things on which to get caught up.
I’ll have a link to some photos from Yellowstone, South Dakota, and all the other cool western places we visited soon. Again, editing these photos is not at the top of my priority list. I have lots of work stuff at Vandy this week so I won’t have the usual few minutes of spare time to browse my RSS feeds.
That being said… here are some great things that have been happening with the awesome Nashville music scene lately. You’ve probably already seen most of these, especially if you read Nashville Cream, but these tidbits deserve posting!
My favorite band from our fine Music City, The Features, were Paste Magazine‘s band of the week this week. Ever since they signed to Kings of Leon imprint Bug Music, they’ve been popping up all over the national radar. For a band that has been making such amazing music for so many years, it feels incredibly good to see them getting some of the recognition they deserve. In my opinion they should be inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, and sell millions of records and tour the world opening for Paul McCartney, but that’s just the superfan coming out in me. (Via Nashville Cream)
It'll make you cream.
In other Cream news, the blog we all love so dearly for its cantankerous commentators is turning 3 years old this coming weekend. As they’ve done the past 2 years, they’re celebrating with a superb show at the Mercy Lounge this saturday. Headlining will be none other than The Features, and supporting acts will be Kindercastle and The Billy Goats. I will be there doing a photobooth as I’ve at the past two. It costs $5, which is really a steal considering the lineup and all the free stuff and prizes you can enter to win. Seriously, it’s the only place to be this Saturday!
Ok, so I’ve raved and raved about The Features, but it’s well-deserved. The final bit of Features awesomeness comes from our great friends at Lake Fever Productions and Tugboat Productions, who have been churning out great videos of their live sessions called Lake Fever Sessions. So far they’ve done a ton of great videos of artists both local and national, including Cursive, The Privates, Those Darlins, and many more. Here’s a personal fave, the 1-2 punch of Whatever Gets You By/The Drawing Board. Even more exciting is that they have another one in the can to be released later this fall. It’s a version of their classic show-closer “Thursday” featuring gang vocals by a number of local musicians/etc… These videos really reminded me why I love this band so much. Something about the way it was filmed, the intimacy of the live recording, and the unusually flowery decor just really hit the spot.
NASA’s options/Zooey Deschanel dances/vacation
August 6, 2009
This will be my last post for about a week or more. Tomorrow right after work Megan and I are heading westward to spend some time at Yellowstone and the surrounding areas, and possibly Portland as well. Having to make the 34 hour drive back from Portland is looking less and less appealing, however. That being said, posting will be virtually non-existent for a while.
Photo via USA Today
As I mentioned a few days ago, we saw 500 Days of Summer last weekend. Most people would agree that there’s no such thing as too much Zooey Deschanel, and thus I highly recommend watching this cute music video put together as a promotional piece for the movie. It’s for She & Him’s “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” and features ZD dancing with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I have no idea how to embed USA Today videos on WordPress, so just go watch it here. (Via Stereogum)
I know I flooded you with science nerdiness yesterday, but I have to post this. I read an article this morning on Space.com containing details on the options for the future direction of NASA that Obama’s Augustine Commission are reviewing. Basically they’ve narrowed it down to 7 generalized options. They’ve been holding public hearings to get input from citizens (which is awesome) and plan to convene to make their final decisions and present them to President Obama at the end of this month. I’ve mentioned this many times on here before, but this is the first time I’ve seen the actual options that are under review. Personally, I’m torn between the “Directly Shuttle-Derived System” and relying on commercial spaceflight. It’s obvious that the current Ares I is having issues. It’s also obvious that many companies, the leader of them being Virgin Galactic, are really close to making commercial spaceflight a simple and easy solution. NASA could just buy flights from a private company to get astronauts to and from the ISS. I definitely think the US has invested way too much time and money into the ISS to end our involvement in 2015, just 4 years after it will be completed. It will still be useful and there’s no sense in abandoning it. Then NASA could possibly use the shuttle-derived plan, along with Ares V (which hasn’t had as many setbacks as Ares I because it’s not intended to carry humans; only cargo) to get to the moon and eventually Mars. Just my two cents.
See y’all in a week!
Ares I-X/Man-made Auroras
August 5, 2009
Image Via Universe Today
NASA is assembling the Ares I-X rocket currently in the the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kenndey Space Center. This rocket is a test version for the Ares I which, under the current plan, will eventually take astronauts to the ISS and moon. They plan to do the test flight on Oct. 31st of this year. However, Obama’s Augustine Commission is currently reviewing the direction of NASA and could come out with a report that recommends scrapping the Ares rockets in favor of retro-fitting the space shuttle’s external fuel tank/SRB assembly to work with the new Orion Crew Vehicle. (I’ve posted about this before.) I’d say the test will happen regardless of the Augustine Commission’s recommendations, and furthermore I’d speculate that their findings will be somewhat dependent on the results of this test flight. Either way, it’ll be cool to see what happens. (Via Universe Today)
It’s unfortunate that most really big advances and breakthroughs in science are the result of military initiatives. (See: THE INTERNET) A scientist can ask the government for money to research a technology that could greatly improve the lives of everyone, but as soon as he/she mentions that the technology could have military applications, their chance of getting said money goes up exponentially. Such is the case with one of the most mysterious facilities ever to be built. No, I’m not talking about Area 51, I’m talking about HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in Alaska. This thing is literally capable of creating its own miniature aurora in the sky. It’s a 3.6 megawatt antenna array aimed directly into the sky, and its purpose is to turn the ionosphere (a layer at the top of the atmosphere full of charged particles) into a giant low frequency antenna. I think the intent of the scientists behind this project is good, but the facility has fueled tons of conspiracy theories. Some even say it is responsible for Hurricane Katrina. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know exactly how ultra low frequency radio waves can affect the weather, but I do know that something powerful enough to blast the ionosphere and create a mini-aurora is pretty awesome, and the scientific knowledge that can be gained from such experiments is well-worth the evils of military application. The main military application in this case is the penetrating power of those ultra-low frequency radio waves generated by the ionosphere. Those waves could be used to detect underground bunkers and communicate with submarines deep in the ocean. Other radio waves are quickly absorbed by just a few feet of water or land, but these high-powered, low frequency waves have much more penetrating ability. I suggest reading this well written article on Wired about HAARP for more info if you’re interested. Here’s what the antenna array looks like:
My 8 off 8th tonight/Moon & 500 Days of Summer/Beer
August 3, 2009
The most important thing for you to do/know about today is my 8 off 8th tonight. It’s the 3rd one I’ve done and I sincerely hope that if you’re in the Nashville area, you’ll come out tonight and check out these great bands. The flyer was designed by the awesome Cara Charlton. Click on each band to learn more about them. The Cream also gave me a shout-out.
Dixie Whiskey
Cody Blaine & the Whole Fam Damnly
The Comfies
Joel J. Dahl
Tristen
Pineapple Explode
Overzealous
Jug Huggers
While you’re at the Cream, please do checkout my photos from the Green Day show Friday. Those haven’t lost their touch and if the rest of the show was as awesome as the first 2 songs, then I’m really sad that I couldn’t stay for the whole thing. They made those 2 songs into a 20 minute spectacle that had me running around chasing BJA quite a bit, and I loved every minute of it.
In some other local news:
Nashvillest got voted best local blog in the Toast of Music City awards. Way to go!
Some local dudes started a beer review blog a year or so ago, and while they’ve been dormant for a few months, they’re back in business. Check out the Beer School Blog. They’ll try just about any beer and give it a score. They also talk about the bar itself sometimes, so if you like beer and want to find a new beer to check out, have a look through their archives.
Speaking of beer, I’m officially going to start brewing my own beer. After I get back from my vacation next week, I plan to hit up the two places I know of in town that sell brewing ingredients, and I’m gonna give it a try. I’ve found myself getting increasingly more interested in the multitude of beer styles so as I brew, I’m also going to expand my palette and try some of the more obscure styles out there, such as a Rauchbier, Biere de Garde, or Faro.
This past weekend we managed to see both Moon and 500 Days of Summer. I thoroughly enjoyed them both. Here’s a quick blurb on each-
500 Days of Summer: 6.5 out 0f 10. By all means go see this movie. I’m no film critic but here’s my two cents… It’s really just another one of those indie-cutesy-warm-fuzzy romantic movies, with a bittersweet twist. The acting is great- Zooey Deschanel is as beautiful as ever, and is the perfect fit for her character, as is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I guess it’s a bit of guilty pleasure, because there have been many films of this variety to come out in the last few years and their target demographic is basically me. But as I said, there’s a bittersweet twist. They do a great job of really making you root for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character throughout, and the tension is finally resolved, just not in the way most movies resolve it.
Moon: 7.5 our of 10. For a directorial debut, this is one heck of a film. And visually, it’s quite remarkable considering the budget. I never though a movie with so few characters could be so great. David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones deserves some sort of award for this one. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me, and it made me wish for more of a build-up somehow, but overall it came together well. Again, I am not by any means a film critic, so these are just my humble opinions.
Now, don’t forget to come to my 8 off 8th tonight! But before you do that, feast your eyes on this awesome poster by Monkey Ink Design for the upcoming Drive By Truckers/Glossary show at Cannery Ballroom.
First of all, please go check out the Nashville Cream review of last night’s Dead Weather show at War Memorial Auditorium. And look at my photos. I’m kinda proud of a few of them. Honestly, though, I did enjoy the show more than I thought I would. It was cool seeing 2/3 of Green Day walking around in the crowd. I may actually get the Dead Weather album now… I’d only heard “Treat Me Like Your Mother” up until the show. I think I just enjoyed the performance more than the songs though. Allison Mosshart is one of the best frontwomen I’ve ever seen and she really knows how to sell the show. Obviously she did a lot of limbo-ing when she was a kid, because she executed the steepest backbend of anyone I’ve ever seen. Go to the Cream review- they used the pic of her backbend to head up the post.
This is kind of old news now, but in case you’ve been away from the interwebs for a few days, Those Darlins are considered a “breaking band” by Rolling Stone. Way to go girls! If they keep going on their current track, they’ll be world-famous in another year or so.
Time Magazine is trying to define and pinpoint something that is undefinable and infinitely elusive: hipsterdom. When will people learn? (Via Brooklyn Vegan)
Local Honey owner Shea Steele has been kicking ass and doing all kinds of cool stuff lately, and she pretty much sums it all up in a blog post from yesterday. She and Amanda Valentine were both potential contestants on Project Runway, but they didn’t quite make the final cut to be on the show. Though when asked about it, they say they were just relieved to have the pressure off their chest. While it would have been really cool to see one or two Nashville local designers on the show, it would have probably consumed at least 6 months of their lives, and they have other things they’d probably rather be doing.
On the books for this weekend:
Photographing Green Day at Sommet Center tonight. Kinda wish I got to stay for the whole thing, but they don’t usually let photogs back in after shooting the first 2-3 songs. After that we’ll probaby just watch Eureka and chill for the rest of the night.
Saturday night I’m taking photos at the Annual Davidson County Democratic Party Honors Dinner, and after that I have no idea what to do.
The most important thing is that Monday is my 3rd 8 off 8th, and you should come. As always, it’s FREE, 21+, and starts at 9pm SHARP.
steve cross loves music and science 