Your Weekend?

TNT EVENT with Doctor Bird!?

Your Thursday? ^

Your Saturday? ^
@ Chicana Perk in Sherman Heights

Your Sunday? ^

@ The Kadan Club
http://www.kadanclub.com/
4696 30th St
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 640-2500

So Urban in East County

Music

I put some of my ridiculously lo-fi tracks on a myspace, check it out and add me if you wish!

I'm calling the project:

http://www.myspace.com/imthetriangle

This Friday.

I want to go, I hope someone covers my shift.

Check out the show! This Friday at the Maple-Montclair House in South Park

Art By: C. Paul Majors, Jamie Leon, Monica Mendoza, Eddy Miramontes, Lisa Cutter, Nathaniel Klien, Danielle Helms, Sani, "Faffs".

Musical Performances by: Paddle Boat, Sani, & Jehovas Fitness

Free Skool's Bike Kitchen

A place for community benefits, shows, classes, and most popular the Bike Kitchen. Which is a chance for those of you who are in need of transportation..ahem, like myself and can't bear with the almost five dollar a gallon gas prices! The Bike Kitchen is an event held weekly by Free Skool's project Bikes Del Pueblo where you can come in and build a bike with parts donated by the community in their "bike junkyard". Hours have changed from Sundays to Saturdays from 9am-1pm at the City Heights Farmer's Market. They also can help you fix your damaged bike, or just educate you if you have a question on bike parts or whatever. I went in and got myself a beaut and am very thankful, now I can ride in Critical Mass this Friday with the friends. Which is a bunch of bikers getting together for a ride around San Diego...I'll do a follow up post on that one. In the mean time check out Free Skool's site and what they've got to offer. Thanks again all. I love you dearly.

http://bang.calit2.net/freeskool/

(Photo above from Free Skool's Site)


My magenta Schwinn <3

ADAM! <3


Beauitful Sani

Friends a singin' :)

Danny is Jehovas Fitness. <3

Paul Baribeau!!!

(These are unedited. More photos will come.)

Last nights show was really great, I love this communal effort towards finding yourself through music, and finding yourself through the trials you face everyday. All these guys, great heads on thier shoulders and hearts in thier chests.

"Love everyone"

P.S. More pictures will be posted on a photobucket sometime this week. (Ahem: Adam, Dany, Sani. I'll let you know.)

Jehovas Fitness

Last night mi comrades and I bussed it over to the Che to see their good friend from Jehovas Fitness, which is usually a solo project with the main guy Danny just with his hands, voice, and a guitar but that night he had his friends from his other band Doctor Bird there to play a good show. I'm really glad I went last night, their music made me really happy and I felt great being there. After everything I've been going through it felt so amazing to just be there in that moment and feel good. Danny, and my friend Adam are having a show tonight if your interested in checking them out they are all amazing people with big hearts. Besides Adam and Doctor Bird (Jehovas Fittness) I hadn't really discovered these other two performers untill recently I have all thier links below check em out!

Adam!
Doctor Bird
Sani
Paul Baribeau

(Juan is excited to see him and to know someone that he sees everyday i.e. Adam! who could say that they performed with Paul Baribeau)



Here's some pics from last night of Jehova Fitness (Technically Dr. Bird<3):

I love Adam's face in this one haha

Alone Day

Today was my day off so I solo traveled to: Oceanside, Encinitas and some other places, The first photo is on the SD bay from the strand, and the rest are from my adventure today. I got on the bus on the strand at 6:30, then let off near America Plaza downtown, caught the Blue Line to old town, got there then hopped on the 150 to UCSD, where I then jumped on a Sprinter the 101, which takes you all the way from La Jolla to Oceanside, so I took it all the way there straight along the coast. On the way back I pulled the string on places that seemed interesting. I hit up the Oceanside pier, then took a nap at this really cool park in Encinitas where a buttload of kids were fighting over a ball and saying that its only a three player game. Woke up and then stumbled upon a really cool renovated project where theres a little oulet or "pond" thats where the picture of me (below) is at, there I had another memo moment (which is why theres an excerpt on the photo). I had a real nice time today, even though it was by myself. Oh and one more thing, there was this lady on the 101 southbound that said something interesting today: "The Equations, the equations are all around us!" As she moved her arms to fit the form of two parallel lines and then her fingers to create a box. I don't think shes that crazy, shes right after all. No one wanted to sit next to her, I was fine just watching from the other side as well. Girl put a smile on my face.

Coronado (Silver Strand/Bayside)

An altercation of work by an unknown artist of Encinitas, CA

Oceanside Pier

Oceanside Pier

Me in Secret Spot!
---------------------------------------------

Here is the memo or as my creative writing teacher, Lacey likes to call "Stream of Conciousness" piece from today:

Beautiful

I might not know who I am at this specific point in time. I might not know who I am at all. Although given the space, the energy, I will hope that someday I will become more than a little dark-haired child-mouth full of silver teeth on the 101.

As I collide up these southern costal waters I begin to wonder about its cities fathers, and what really makes fathers fathers. It’s like a humming tick of a ceramic depot in Encinitas, as my 6 dollar watch ticks right along together.

I remember that I am not alone, but together, along with my many precarious narrations. I am unsure with train tracks to my right and an ocean at my left, which will get me to where I want to go faster. I am unsure, but in uncertainty lay vulnerability. I hold no heart that of any addicted sinner, of which they claim the world to be full of. I am one of those civilians that soldiers died for. Wide-eyed and cautious, yet bright-witted and unfocused.

I told the elder, the Cuban woman whose memory escapes her—that my name is Amanda, but in these seconds she retains the impulse of kindness to say that I was beautiful. Seconds after, she is retracted and then asks me my name yet a second time.

I am Amanda. I am not broken but I am withered of America and its imperfect obsessions, altercations of a beautiful reality. & as I approach the Oceanside, I must remember that this is my happy life only forgetting to smile. An abstract reaction that recesses to the sand as a wave pulls at my feet. & just like a storm raging over the earth—things can seem much quieter, still and content from within it’s foci.

Good Friends

Lend me your eyes, It's apart of this project I'm working on--just a preview. Kinda iffy at the moment. Thought I'd share. :) These are my two friends Adam and Juan running around Imperial Beach...yeah that's about it. Oh and some add-shots of Coronado after I got off work.

P.S I love you.

For heaven's sake

"Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischief!"

-William Shakespeare
______________________

It's times like these where I wish my blood were thickened, and that I had the heart full with gall, of like a man--to overpass belittling gestures.

Aria C Jalali’s Art Rock

So up in San Fran is this energetically genuine, curly headed, instrumental juggler by the name of Aria C Jalali; who has been making tracks on his own for some time, involving his musical talents on eight pieces from his synthesizer to an accordion. Previously known on Myspace under his name Aria C Jalali! He has now decided to rename the project Railcars. The transition from solo to four-person ensemble came from the fact that in the studio he would record and play all his own instruments, although when performing live he would expand his band to a four person gig. Railcars’ vox, guitar and various instruments are played by himself as Biljana Mirkovski accompanies on guitar, along with Dasha Bulatova on the keyboards and glockenspiel, and Shaw Waters on bass. The band together makes a live melodic imprint on their listener, who cannot resist the flow of the tempo. As he described before in a Q&A with The Buzz, an online column, his interpretation of his work is what he likes to call Art Rock.

“I call it art rock. It's kind of anti-pop music. It's noisy, but catchy and melodic.”, Jalali says.

Intrigued by the first track on their Myspace “There is ice, it is blue.” became the song in which knighted me a fan. The numerous instrumentals take to the ears like a New Age symphony, and with upbeat yet subtle interwoven chemical vocal sound; Railcars is the ear candy that melts in your mind. The band is looking forward to releasing their new EP around August 1st entitled Cities; Submarines will be released as a 500-run 7" vinyl as well as digitally, through Gold Robot Records, which is based in Berkeley, CA.

Jalali looks to his good friend Jamie Stewart for collaborative efforts during recording time, which for Cities; Submarines is now June 2008. Stewart is the singer/songwriter of another band Xui Xui, an experimental indie band in Oakland, CA. Jalali and Stewart, both sharing similar influences, have been friends and colleagues for some good time. Stewart has agreed and is now producing and recording the upcoming EP at his home in Oakland, CA.

After wikipeding and myspacing about this guy, I decided no better than to ask him about his music. Enjoy.
_____________

Amanda: Solo act vs four person band...?

Aria: Oh yes, I've always been a solo act, recording wise, but rarely ever live. I used to just go by my full name, Aria C Jalali, because I wasn't decisive enough to settle on a project name. Honestly if Alexei Perry (Handsome Furs photo to right) hadn't chosen "Railcars" out of some choices I gave her, I'd still be up in the air.

I still am a solo act on some nights. It really depends. I have a cool group of people to play with, but sometimes we cant all be there due to logistics, to the lineup switches around a lot. Some nights its the full band, me - Biljana - Dasha - Shaw. Some nights I will play at a shitty dive bar by myself, or for instance, the band cant make it out to Athens Popfest this year, so my girlfriend Megan and I will be the band.

Am: How long have you been playing music?


Ar: I think the first electric guitar lesson I got was when I was six or seven. I took two more and never really went back. I don't sing song write at all, I dont think. I have always written music more in the style that Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) describes a one man band (vs, singer songwriter). I use a lot of loops and drum boxes to recreate a big song, then write to that, instead of with just an acoustic guitar.

Am:Where did you grow up? Have you known the band from your younger years?

Ar: I am originally from Los Angeles, and sort of grew up all around there. I've only recently met the band actually! As a matter of fact, I rarely knew any other people who liked to play the same music as me until I moved to San Francisco.

Am: How long has the band been together, is "Postmodernism" a solo vinyl? And the three-song cassette "Demo for Jamie" a collective effort of the entire band together?

Ar: Yes, when I recorded the postmod record, it was a total solo bedroom project, I think I had only played live once or twice before that. I got some dates playing with handsome furs (which is comprised of Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, and his lovely wife, Alexei perry), so I asked Shaw and Dasha and Biljana to help me pull them off live. That demo is basically, when I was talking to Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu photo on left) about producing an EP for me, I wanted to give him a demo of the songs I had in mind, and we thought it would be cute to make it in a little hand sewn pouch etc. After that we realized that we should just replicate that same thing for other people to be able to have too. Yeah the whole band was there for the songs on that tape. whats funny is the songs demo'd on that tape sound wildly different now as the album is being made.

Am: Have any previous tracks out or are you concentrating on the current EP?

Ar: Oh yeah, there must be a good couple albums worth of songs I've made, that are floating around the interwebz that never actually got released other than on my site for a week or something. We're recording that EP I was mentioning before, with Jamie, during this month, and then also working on a remixes record and a full length album!

Am: Where are you from? (referencing the original names, I would assume: Biljana Mirkovski, Dasha Bulatova, Shaw waters, Aria C Jalali. Not your everyday American names.)

Ar: Yes yes! Well I am Persian and some Russian, Shaw is white as day, and Biljana is from Macedonia, while Dasha is from Russia!

Am: How are you lovin' the scene out there? Are you guys staying local for shows, or have you been touring? If so where too?

Ar: Well, I mean, I make a rule that whenever I travel anywhere, just for vacation or visiting, I try to book at least one show, like at a dive bar or something. As far as full band tours, I think that starts in august for us. I don't have much opinion on the scene other than San Franciscan's kick ass.

Am: Describe what you desire people to feel; is there a message you intend for them to take with them when they listen to your music?

Ar: I don't know, if I can be frank, I really make the songs for my own amusement and enjoyment. I'm not really sure what other people will take or feel, because everyone I'm sure takes something wildly different; but I know I like the beats, so I just figure I'm sure someone else will too.

Am: Describe what you feel when you play your music.

Ar: Free.

Am: What genre would you consider your current project Railcars to be? (Says Alternative/Other on the Myspace)


Ar: I don't know, it's one part rock, one part electro, one part noise. Someone asked if I would consider it to be "art rock" and I thought, "that sounds nice, okay."

Am: What part of SF are you at? Holding another job? Or just devoting your energy to the music?

Ar: I am currently living with my cousin, in the Russian Hill district in San Francisco. I really spend all my days playing music. Except for the days I spend watching Seinfeld and riding my bike around the city.

Am: Your next show as of this moment?

Ar: I know that we are playing at Athens Popfest in Georgia on August 15th, so, around there.

------------------------
Previous EP’s and demos that are out and ready to own are Aria’s previous solo EP Postmodernism!, which is also recorded and out on 7” blue vinyl complete with four tracks of golden beats. As well as a cassette demo by the whole band entitled Demo for Jamie with four solid tracks.

Listen to Railcars' sweet tracks at

http://www.myspace.com/railcarsmusic


Let's build a fan base in SD, and get this loverboy down here!

Railcars & Humid Weather

Speaking of Railcars: firstly, I'm excited to do a piece on these guys, really amazing and talented group of artists. Look for their musical genius on their myspace, they're a band up in SF. For now, I'll say not much but expect more info on them soon as we get things rollin'.

Speaking of humid weather: what the fack SD? What is this? This isn't the swamp lands. Do you see any alligators? Na. Naaaaaw. Get with it SD its June, drop it like it's hot.

Today was uneventful, hung out with some friends before their stop motion showcase at 5:30. Forever will my butt tacked to a bus seat be a symbol of my poverty! Agh but, transit isn't so bad. I actually like the fact that I'm not blowing ridiculous sums of money toward 4 dollar a gallon gas prices. FOUR dollars! I'm sure the Europeans are getting off to this with their almost 9 dollar a gallon gas stations. I'm not one to complain. It isn't affecting me, except when you get on a bus you feel like your about to be deported to TJ, it can be so third world when people start pushing and cramming and yelling by the time the rush hour hits. Always an adventure.

I'm not surprised by this recession, I'll talk generally with you, as a member of the honorary The Recession Has Impacted Me Club. After losing your home, you'd be amazed to see how many other things in your life fall out of place. Hey maybe if Obama makes it against the epic battle of presidency we'll get some change around here. Recession+Obama=Change? CHANGE? Change. Change. Uhm...hey man...what kinda change? Loose change? Pocket change? How many licks does it take to get to the center of obama's changesicle?

The world may never know.

Imagine, a career in graphic design. Platt College. Apply Today. That commercial inspired my nine-year-old brother to want to be a graphic artist, and attend Platt College. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Straight from the memo pad.

Before work the friends and I hit up the park near Seaport again, which by the way does indeed have wi-fi. Yeah. It's kick ass. I took an hour nap while they looked at devotional and l0lcat pictures. Typical of us.

I went into work today, and they told me to go home. I guess I let my thoughts take over my composure, my boss knew something was up. I left early, and walked along the beach in Coronado, it was a rather overcast day today. I'm reluctant to find that something good came out of being sent home. I don't know what I'd do without my memo pad.

"Some people would say the ocean's a scary place. A frightening element. I like to think that it isn't. That it instead of frightening, it remains mysterious. Society will classify the unknown and the undiscovered as frightening; although in most situations, it isn't at all terror. Try adventure, its a chance to become brave. It's uncharted and its yours for the taking. Conditioning yourself to a point in which you are prepared to withstand the break of a wave at the will of the ocean, at the natural faith of which holds the certainty of your life isn't difficult to succumb. You must first be willing to understand that your existence is not voluntary. That it's paths and directions are not determined by your own two feet. You will live on, until your very own death. Then gravity will continue to pull at the sea, always dragging rain from the clouds. This earth in which we spend our whole lives trying to conquer will NEVER be under our jurisdiction. It spins--whether were on it or not. It isn't about relationships, nor all the amazing things we create. They said America is ever-changing but when were gone--America will realize life as one vacation. Your life is just one big fucking vacation...so don't you ever forget how to relax."

It was venting, on rocks by the ocean within the memo pad. Today was another rough day for me, but the wave filtrating through the rocks put me at ease.

I love Wes Anderson.

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Wilson bros. Hell yes.

A clip, from the 2nd remake of Wes Anderson's beginning piece which started out as a short with a Super 8mm camera starring his brothers as characters, soon evolved to 6 million dollar deal with Columbia Pictures back in '96 for Bottle Rocket. Wes Anderson, standing as one of those "mysterious" movie masterminds has always been one of my favorites. Director of some The Life Aquatic, Rushmore, and most recently The Darjeeling Limited. My take on his style would be an "in-between the steps" sort of feel. Like your growing with the writer of whatever story is being told. I love that so much. I love all the abstract shots in his cinematography, it always makes me happy seeing angles through a camera that I dont see through my own two lenses everyday. Like hes giving birth to angles to all our virginized eyes. Its...exclusive almost. Anderson flicks have the most applealing plots that tell a tale in a real natural way with ironies that feel like they surface sublimitally. I love it. I love it. Anyway I thought I'd throw something in here about him. I've been thinking about Rushmore all day long.

Besides that today after school the friends and I went down to this park near Seaport. I recommend it. I'll post the stop motion up here as soon as its done.

UCSD Does Something Cool.

UCSD knows how to be cool. Don't doubt that. Not for one second.

Un-edited. Don't Trip.

___________

San Diego's Children Museum has always been an intriguing place for the kids run around, think, play and create. With exhibits like painting a car every color under then rainbow, or discovering a room dedicated only to flopping around, jumping, and climbing on pillows, mattresses and tires—for the kids it has always been a playhouse. Little do they know it's actually a museum, for all they care it's a more refined, contemporary ChuckECheese, without that mysterious abyss of a ball pit to get lost in. The little child is probably reluctant to find that it smells pretty alright in the museum, thanks to the harmonica vents built throughout the walls, and hey they make a catchy noise every so often. Cool.

I vaguely remember much about the Children's Museum from when I was little, to be honest the highlight for me was that poop colored car that everyone was painting. So when I went by in May to see what the hype was about the improved New Children's Museum, from the second I opened the door, after noticing I had to bend over to reach the lowered handle I knew I was really in for something. The place has a real futuresque and eco sort of structure with its three floors with open ceilings and glassed elevator. Looking out from solar paneled windows capable of regulating the temperature of the building. Every exhibit a work of art and an adventure for those from two-four feel tall. A Texture forest constructed with recycled materials, a re-created play house called The Rain House really gets your toddlers chi energy flowing, where they can have a shesh meditation and listen to rain fall on it's tin roof from inside.

Overwhelmed and excited, I almost forgot that it was a children's museum, until the tour guide took me to the third floor in one corner was The Teen Center which was filled with artists from UCSD. Hmm, now what would about 25 college students been doing in a place like this? Besides screening T's, mapping murals and arting together. It's always nice to see another art community doing what they do best to leave their mark, make themselves known but when I looked into their haven of a corner, and saw them relaxing on Ikea-like sofa's I wanted to dive deeper into their art. To give them recognition as one group definitely seemed less interesting than getting to know the life behind the artist, the energy of each and one of them looked promising. So what exactly was the goal here?

The group of students, after getting to sit down and talk with them about their project it became clear: the New Children's Museum was in need of attracting another age group, stepping it up to another level by having a place for teens to outlet some creative energy was agreed to be a perfect addition to the museum. The idea was to establish a place for teens the ages between 14-19 to hang out and stand as a studio complete with trendy furniture, art supplies, where it constantly is interchanging with new artwork. It would be simply the "Teen Studio", a project original by a group of UCSD Visual Art Undergrads under the guidance of Professor Amy Adler. Together in collaboration with High Tech High the UCSD students gathered a better setting of what type of setting to build that would appeal to the younger crowd.

The idea that they're going for is to make the space interchangeable with new exhibits every few months, with a new artist in change. After the Visual Art UCSD student project of which exhibited for some months was the first to use the space. Not only did the students establish the first project for the space but they then developed proposals from Undergrads and Graduate students to create an artist in residence program for the Children's Museum. Which basically scopes out and finds new artists to come and add their project to the museum so that it keeps the space interchangeable and exciting for the next teen crowd to come and experience.

Art is What You Can Get Away With, was the first proposal and became the theme of their team center. An original quote by Andy Warhol, held as the inspiration for the art projects inside the teen center. Megan Anderson, William Hsu and Renee Medina led their class and made the idea a reality. The exhibit had projects like shoe painting, silk screening and other fun activities. The next proposal making its way into the exhibit space is a development by UCSD Graduate student Zac Monday. His theme is the art of transformation: in which he will create an exhibit for teens to create thier own costumes and lead thier own preformances. Monday wants to work with the idea of turning objects and people into living breathing art. The teen center at the new childrens museum won't nessesarily be the new TNT, but it's bound to make a difference sparking the creativity of San Diego's teen scene.