Sebastian

...desperately needs someone to tell him that everything is going to be ok.

M.I.A.

So, I haven't posted a blog in like 6 months. It seems like it's been longer. I haven't had the time, or made the time. I guess I just haven't been going out much at all, for a number of reasons.

I have been enrolled in the Teaching Credential program, which pretty much accounts for about 90 percent of my days during the week. The other 10% I've been giving to playing music. I'm spread pretty thin, but have faith. I'll be back someday soon.

There once was a man...

There once was a man who thought he could do anything, who thought he was adaptable, capable, loving, and strong.

One day the man woke up in his bed alone and bitter. He had fooled himself for years. He looked around to find he hadn't been the man he thought he was all those years, and he began to wonder what happened to him that brought him to here. It seems he had poured so much of himself into the people around him, that there was nothing left. He came to find that his entire life had been a drawn out series of joyless wastes of time. He has nothing left to care about, and he just wants to go back to sleep.

Please, just let him sleep.

The National, Jaguar Love.

Tonight The National will be at the House of Blues. I will be in attendance. I like The National, but haven't gotten a chance to give a dedicated listen to the album I have.

If I can swing it, I'd like to leave the show at the House of Blues (which starts at 8) in time to catch Jaguar Love at the Beauty Bar. Jaguar Love is yet another post Blood Brothers project (to join the ranks of Head Wound City, Soiled Doves, Neon Blonde, Past Lives...) made up of Johnny and Cody from Blood Brothers, and Jay Clark from Pretty Girls Make Graves. Johnny Whitney is playing a piano and singing. Cody Votolato is on both guitar and bass, and Jay (who was the shit in Pretty Girls) is playing drums, bass, and keyboard. This sounds interesting. It must be nice when your popularity in your previous band(s) can afford you all these one time, one album, one giant headlining tour projects. It's yet to be seen whether or not this band is more than just a recording project. They're on tour right now in the US and heading to Europe in June with plans to continue through the summer. Some of their shows will be opening up for Queens of the Stone Age, but they have a bunch of headlining gigs too. They have a 3 song EP set for release next Tuesday, June 6th on Matador Records, and a full length on the way called "Take Me to the Sea," slated for late August. The Matador website has an mp3 of "Bats Over the Pacific Ocean," from the full length available for download, here. I listened to it, and like it. It's much more rhythmically straight forward than the last couple of projects for Johnny, but his familiar vocals (screech included) go well with a more driving and upbeat accompaniment.

The rest of the the Blood Brothers (Jordan, Mark, Morgan, and orginal Guitarist Devin Welch) are also in a new band called Past Lives. They've played out in Seattle already, and are booked to play the Che in Sept. They kind of remind me of Kill Me Tomorrow.

Bomb ass Memorial day Weekend Shows.

Thursday, May 22nd our brothers from different mothers The Fever Sleeves and Hostile Combover will be playing at Bar Pink Elephant. Recognize!

Friday, May 23rd, will be Cullen Hendrix's (The North Atlantic, Dirtbag's Delight) last show with Pen and Ink before he moves to Texas to be all educational n'shit. They play with The Donkeys and Derek Papa at the Ken Club. Also fans of now defunct The North Atlantic should delight to find that Jason Hendrix and Jason Richards have teamed up with a third Jason (Clark) and a Jeremy to form Big Science in Chicago. Very exciting.

Saturday, May 24th. at Chasers. Batwings presents our very dear foreign friends from down Mexico way, Lipstick Terror, and Maniqui Lazer. They are both from Mexicali, the capital of Baja California. It's a major city of more than a million that is about 10 miles south of the shit town of El Centro, where each member of Batwings all grew up. They bring with them Anavan, and Attractive and Popular. Anavan is from Los Angeles. Attractive and Popular are from Arkansas. Both bands are former GSL bands, and both play really fun elecro-hardcore shit. They all fucking bring it. This is a big deal! I implore you, check these bands out!
CHECK THESE BANDS OUT!

Cat Dirt had this to say about seeing Lipstick Terror in their hometown of Mexicali...

and this ->

"I've been meaning to see Lipstick Terror for some time and I wasn't dissapointed. They very much fit in with the los angeles smell centered experimental vibe. It's basically hardcore with bandanas and a key board. From Mexicali? High concept if you know what I mean. Undeniably they had the crowd going. Take a note music industry- lipstick terror is your official scene opening band for your show in Mexicali. They know it, though. Expect bandanas. Some of the spirit of born against, if you know what i'm talking about. But there's no melody."

and this ->

"I want to book a show with Lipstick Terror in San Diego. Hard to find a venue. I think I may be Lipstick Terror's biggest fan."

Batwings will be playing with Lipstick Terror and our other Mexicali powerhouse buddies Cancer Bullet in Mexicali on Saturday June 7th, and again on Sunday June 8th in San Diego at Kadan.

-Sebastian

Sd Reader quotes A.C.I.F.

I was quoted by name for something I posted here, in the Blurt section of the San Diego reader a couple of weeks ago [here]. At first I was unsure whether or not the writer was trying to be a smartass by referring to me as "Sebastian Ulloa of Batwings." He made a point to say that myself and someone from VVmorgue had both said bad things about Chasers, yet both of our bands had upcoming shows booked there. I know T-bone has been trying hard to shed the old reputation that Chaser's has, so I think that was the point of the piece. My intention was not to talk shit about Chaser's. You can read what I said in its original context here. There was also a mistake in the date that the reader posted about Batwings playing Chasers. They listed us on a show for May 9th at Chasers that we had canceled. Batwings does however have a show at Chaser's on Friday, June 13th with our old guitarist Todd, and his new band, Extinct Animals, and a band called Architect Sketch.


- Sebastian

No one belongs here more than you. - A book review.

No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July

Miranda July is a filmmaker, writer, and performing artist. My first exposure to her work was in a short film called "A Shape Called Horse" from an old Kill Rock Stars video compilation that I have on VHS, and then later when she made her first feature length film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. She also just did a short film with John C. Reilly called "Am I Someone's Favorite Person?"

My first impression of the book was that it reads a little bit like a Jack Handey book. Jack Handey is the humorist responsible for "Deep Thoughts," "Fuzzy Memories," and "My Big Thick Novel," from which they read excerpts on Saturday Night Live. The one-liners were always these great surreal observations. For example, "If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." In the same way, Miranda July has a great way of describing these beautifully awkward perverted perceptions of reality. Her characters live in the world filled with all the hidden meanings and things that most people don't see. Probably, because they are not there. We call these kinds of people, crazy people. You know how watching one of Ben Stiller's romantic comedies might make you anxious because throughout the movie you know he's moments away from do something stupid, or fucking something up, like zipping his balls in his fly or setting something on fire? Well, in Miranda July's stories, you're anxious because you know her character's are a page away from doing something really weird, sad, gross, or awkward and depressing. They are really sad yet charming characters, with really awkward yet funny stories, if you can imagine that.

As I read the book, some of the elements therein began to feel strikingly familiar. It reminded me of an almost surreal experience I had as a teenager. When I was a freshman in high school, my by-all-other-measures-insignificant existence came the the specific attention of a girl in the upper class. I believe she was a senior. I didn't know a whole lot about her. I knew she was a cheerleader, and that for some reason or another she decided to take a liking to me. Apparently, it doesn't take much more than that to constitute a relationship at that age. So, just like that, we were dating, or "going out," which ironically has little to do with actually knowing one another, or dates, or going anywhere. We spoke on the phone a couple of times, and from what I remember, the conversations were brief. She was the same age as my older sister, so she knew where I lived. She decided to stop by unannounced on a Saturday morning before she went to cross country practice or something. She was directed to my bedroom where I was still sleeping. She came in and sat on the bed beside me and just watched me sleep. After she woke me, she told me she had been sitting there for 10 or 15 minutes just watching me sleep. Now, "awwwww," this might sound really sweet or romantic, but we had only been "dating" for a couple of weeks. It really creeped the shit out of me. This was the first of many things to creep me out. A couple of weeks later we broke up. So, maybe before we broke up, I might have possibly told some people, that probably knew her better than they knew me, that I thought she was a crazy person. I may have even said I was afraid of her. This is not a nice thing to say about someone you are dating, and for future reference should be considered a mistake. So, when I finally got up the gumption to break up with her, I bore witness to some of the most unnatural, almost painful contortions of reality. She very quickly managed to convince herself that I was just as upset about "breaking up" as she was, that it was for the better, that we would always be friends, and that she knew in her heart of hearts that I was not a person that was capable of having used the word "psycho" to describe her. I was. I did. Truth be told, not only did I refer to her as a "psycho," I told several people that I was afraid that if I broke up with her, she would do something crazy like Misery style, and tie me up and torture me, or sit up on the rooftop of a building at school with a sniper rifle and take out the next girl to talk to me. I really was afraid of breaking up with her. In my own flimsy defense, I was freaked out. She had already given me an incredibly annoying cutesy-wootsey nickname that I instantly hated. She used it at every opportunity, publicly and privately, and I dare not ever repeat it. She wasted no time buying Christmas gifts for me that she was absolutely sure I was going to love. It was like the first week of November for fuck's sake. I barely knew her. We only dated for about three or four weeks, two of which I feared her, and during which we didn't actually do anything together beyond briefly making out a couple of times before she walked home from school, and sharing a handful of brief phone calls. Maybe I'm a prick. Ok, I know I'm a prick, but maybe my deep seeded and irrational fear of commitment started even as far back as freshman year in high school. All I do know, is that the characters in Miranda July's stories remind me of this crazy girl and of my vividly imaginative fear of the fallout of one of my very first relationships.

All of the stories are written in the first person, and if you've seen her movie, Me and You and Everyone We Know, the style feels familiar. The people in her movie do a lot of talking like no one is listening. Many of the conversations are not so much exchanges, but alternating monologues. Like the movie, some of the subject matter in the book is shockingly perverse, but poetic at the same time. It deals with some dark, ugly, and awkward situations with acceptance and light hearted sense of humor. It's fun and sad at the same time.
Definitely a recommended read, especially if you enjoyed Me and You and Everyone We Know. There is a really charming website for the book here.

Here are some of my favorite quotes.

From How to Tell Stories to Children "Inelegantly, and without my consent, time passed."

From Majesty "Get down on your knees your highness, and ask my vagina, that ugly beast." "Let me in, Let me in."

From This Person "Teachers of subjects that this person wasn't even good at are kissing this person and renouncing the very subjects they taught. Math teachers are saying that math was just a funny way of saying "I love you..."


Here's a scene from the movie.

"Fuck old People, Fuck Children, Fuck Peace"

Thank you Alexis, for letting me borrow this book, No, making me read this book.
-Sebastian

This ought to be interesting.

Did you know that the first Friday in May is always International No Pants Day? This is real. There is, in fact, a day dedicated to "Donald Ducking it." Not only that, there's a website for it at Nopantsday.com, a No Pants Day Myspace profile, a facebook group for No Pants Day Participants, a No Pants athem called Pantless Revolution, and a religion called The Church of No Pants. See for yourself.

Anyway, some friends of mine have decided to celebrate International No Pants day here in San Diego by having a "No Pants Party" at Hamilton's in South Park tomorrow night. Friday May 2nd.

I received this information today regarding the gathering:

"Final​ly,​​ a day of freed​om to ventu​re out of your homes​ and into publi​c feeli​ng just as comfo​rtabl​e in your favor​ite pair of undie​s,​​ or skin,​​ eithe​r works​. We have organ​ized a pants​less get-​​toget​her aka No Pants​ PARTY​!​
at Hamil​ton'​​s Taver​n in South​ Park Frida​y night​​. Nothi​ng beats​ getti​ng tipsy​ in your panti​es and Donal​d-​​Ducki​ng it in your local​ bar! For those​ of you who don'​t know.​.​.

​
Hamil​ton'​s Taver​n
1521 30th St
San Diego​,​ CA 92102"

The message also came with the reassurance, "note that every​one is REALL​Y not weari​ng pants​ or short​s OR skirt​s.​.​.​we are serio​us about​ this..​. ​it will be fun WE PROMI​SE :)"

I may not be around to witness this, but while I'm not sure I'd participate, I have to admit that I'm curious how this thing is going to go down.

ps - apparently March 14 was Steak and Blow Job Day. Fucking missed that one

Bujwah Art Show in Mexicali

Attention El Centro, Imperial Valley and Mexicali peoples!

My good friends at Bujwah are having an art show in mexicali tomorrow at the Mexicali Rose gallery.

And if you can't make it then, on Monday you can

"Grow Your Stache For The Bujwah Cinco De Mayo Bash!"

@ Tommy's Casino 467 main st,El Centro

Contest:
* Jalapeno Eating Contest
* Pin The Tail On The Donkey
* Best Moustache Contest
* Piñata

Bash Starts @ 5pm
21+ w/ID

Cold Cerveza * Chips & Salsa * Buenos Amigos

These guys have been my friends for a really long time. They are all hilarious and super talented. If you are around PLEASE show your support. Don't forget your birth certificate or passport, or you'll get harassed at the border.

For more info go HERE.

She and Him

I just checked this out...

She and Him is the collaboration of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Zooey Deschanel is the actress from Elf, Hitchhikers Guide, and the crazy Alaskan ex-girlfriend from Weeds. We know M. Ward from his 6 solo albums and collaborations and cameos with the likes of Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis Cat Power, Beth Orton.... They play countried up folksy indie-pop. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but this shit sucks. Well maybe that's harsh, but it's pretty uninteresting. I guess sometimes her voice is charming, but the songwriting falls short...

...No, fuck that, her voice sucks. Don't waste your time. This may be a lot more genuine, but still feels like another attempt to surround a popular and pretty, however untalented, actor with superior musicians, and take their flat and uninspired vocals and wrap them up in lush arrangements to try and fool you into thinking it's worth your time (ie Drew Barrymore, Heather Graham, Scarlett Johansen, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan...). It's not. I'm not sure why anyone should care about this album.Watch her movies, ignore her music.

Same goes for Lukas Haas.

dicks.

Home sweet home.

Kudos to all the dedicated bloggers. I don't know how you find the time. For the last couple of months, with all the other shit I had to do, I just didn't want to spend any time on the computer that wasn't absolutely necessary. I got tired just looking at this fucking machine. After I actually got my computer up and running again, it was all business. BTW it's running better than ever. It's just that I had so much other shit to do that if I spent any time blogging, I felt irresponsible because I had much more pressing matters to attend to. I got a new job at a middle school that kind of blows, but I got hired when most teachers are getting pink slips, so I can't complain. I had to deal with taxes, post grad application submission deadlines. I'm still doing a little GRE prep workshop on weeknights. NOT TO MENTION I played 7 shows in last 11 days with Batwings. We went up to San Francisco, Sacramento, and Reno, and played some local shows as well. Since Larry joined the band we've already played almost 20 shows. We booked it ourselves, I made flyers, printed merchandise, cd ep cover art, making cds, transportation arrangements, etc... anyway I was busy. Touring is fucking fun though.

Thanks to Amy for your appreciation.

Wild Weekend found a third bassist with a girl I've met several times named Cara. I didn't even know she played bass. I'm thinking about checking them out at the Pink Elephant on Thursday, April 10th, for their record release party. She's got some big rocking shoes to fill. Hopefully they've written more originals too.

This Saturday, April 5th, I went to the Tower bar to witness the triumphant return of The Corvinas. They haven't played out since Rene left the band and started his own band called Chango Rey y El Moreno. I have yet to see them play, but I hear good things. Ironically, the guitarist that replaced Rene for the show on Saturday, Clayton, also plays guitar in Chango Rey. Lady Vain and a band called The Fast Takers also played. The Fast Takers are from Portland and feature a very energetic and charismatic, however legally blind, frontman. Hernan is from El Centro, and spent some time living in San Diego before unfortunately losing a good percentage of his ability to see, and moving to Portland. He used to play drums in a speed metal band when I was in Jr. high, and he was in high school . I heard they formed after he placed a classified ad in the paper. The Fast Takers are an AC/DC meets Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers rock punk and not punk rock playing five piece. I missed Lady Vain. I don't know anything about them at all.

Also, Calico Horse has a new website. Awake In The Clouds

Strangely Familiar

I just watched the Vampire Weekend video for "A-Punk" which a little too closely resembled the Mae Shi video for "Run To Your Grave."

Coincidence or crime. You be the judge.





P.S. In case you didn't already know, the Mae Shit are the shit.

I'm alive.

Well, I'm finally back in town, actually I've been back for a week. I was in Colorado at the end of January, and spent 3 of the 4 weeks of February away from home as well. I drove a couple of rental cars for work. I checked out the first one on the 1st of February. When I turned in the second one in on Monday the 3rd of March, I had driven a little bit more than 2600 miles in it. No fucking joke, I feel like I was living in the goddamned car. On my few days/nights off I had practice or a show to play. I played 4 shows (in 2 different countries). We recorded the tracks on 4 new songs for a new Batwings demo, which was a long ordeal. We still need to mix it down, but we're excited. I had a multiple day job subbing for an orchestra teacher. Imagine 60 junior high and high school kids all playing different songs quite poorly and simultaneously. I got pretty nasty cold through the one week I was home. I attended 2 weddings. I went to a wake. I went to a funeral. I made some flyers. I designed some "save the date" magnets for my sisters wedding. I went to a mixer event for the Young Lawyers Association (read:asshole convention, no offense Eran, Cat Dirt...). I spent 18 of the 29 February nights sleeping in a hotel. I had this incredible opportunity to ponder all the shit that I can so easily ignore at home. It freaked me out a little bit. I missed my crazy home routine, because it keeps me distracted. I just got a full time position at a middle school in Clairemont which should be interesting.

My computer was a bit worse off than I thought. I've got a virus of some sort that is really fucked up. Now when I use firefox or internet explorer my computer from time to time decides type letters in the wrong direction, pushing words forward with backwards spelling. I feel dyslexic, this message is taking an hour to type because of it, and I'm one fucked up backwards spelled word from smashing this fucking computer onto the sidewalk I'm so goddamned frustrated.

Anyway,
Cullen Hendrix is engaged. Congratulations!
Kite Flying Society broke up. I briefly worked with Lauren, the Keyboardist. Bummer.
Wendy has left Wild Weekend. Sadly, divorce has effected two bands now.
and I'm going to see Tera Melos and the Fever Sleeves at Black Box tonight.

PS. Hope everybody had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Here's how I spent mine...



The ladies I worked with in Costa Mesa thought it would be fun if we all wore matching sequined heart shirts, and rhinestone heart rings. These were my Valentine's day dates. Fucking sweet.

On Hiatus.

I'm still alive, though I've been out of commission for the last couple of weeks. and it looks like it might stay that way, at least 'til the end of the week. My computer is down. This brings a lot of my usual routine to a grinding halt. God, it sucks to be so dependent on technology. It should be up and running within the next few days. I don't usually get a chance to do any blogging from work, so it'll be a few days til I get back to it. I will be out of town for three of the four weeks in February. I won't be going far, but I won't be home. I'll have some catching up to do for possibly this weekend.

In the works:
some live reviews - Meho Plaza/Oso, Calico Horse/MGMT/Yeasayers, Dwarves/Cell Block 5, Buzzkill Romantics, A couple of record reviews, "Banning is a Shithole," "The Assclowns," and a Post-Mortem Scolari's assessment: a review of Chaser's as a venue.

Chasers is Scolari's is Dead.

So, I was neck deep in a fucking eulogy for Scolari's Office when I read the following bulletin from T-Bone and the entire (ex) Scolari's staff. I had a feeling...
_____________________________________________
[The Bad News:
On Tuesday January 22nd the owners of Scolaris Office decided to pull the plug on all entertainment until after the bar officially changed hands, leaving over eighty bands without a place to play This after promising we could book shows through April. The employees at Scolari's are outraged by this affront to not only the bands but all our patrons as well.

The Good News(We hope):
Donny has worked out a deal with the owner of Chasers to become the new bar manager. We are moving the entire staff over to Chasers including doormen, bartenders and Karaoke hosts(and hopefully trivia night hosts,c'mon Kipper!) piece by piece. We know Chasers has a bad rep right now but with the right people running the show and the right clientele(that means you) we can make it awesome

In Conclusion:
All shows are still a go (with a few exceptions due to shows already scheduled at Chasers,please see below) If you have a problem with moving the show please let me know so we can discuss it . Karaoke is happening every Wednesday and Sunday including tonight!! Daryl is the host and Donny will be the bartender.

Scolari's was an amazing place that I will miss dearly, it had it's downsides and drawbacks but it touched a lot of lives. Please leave your condolences and memories as comments and please help us make Chasers even better than Scolari's.

Thanks
T-Bone and the entire staff

These are the only dates that are already booked at Chasers:
Sat.Jan 25th
Fri.Feb 1st
Sat.Feb 2nd
Sat.Mar 1st
Sat.Mar 8th

I am very sorry to the bands whose shows fall on these nights. Let's reschedule them if possible]
______________________________________
Here is the post I was about to publish:
______________________________

R.I.P.

Change, Growth, or Decay?

I was going to reply to a post on SdDialedIn concerning Scolari's having been sold (I know it's already like 2 weeks old, but I've been unavailable since then). However, I decided to give my full response as a new post. In particular, I wanted to respond to this quote from Rosey, who said "Anyway, lots of changes a' comin' in the San Diego bar scene, it appears. For now, I'm ok with that."

I don't think I'm ok with it, and I wanted to rant about the current state of North Park music venues.

Scolari's Office.

Yeah, the day crowd is full of uber-creepy drug-addled inebriates that often intermingle with the night crowd, there's an ever present aroma of old beer, vomit, and urine, and some nights the live band is unbearably loud and/or unbelievably awful. Sounds terrible enough. Well, the bar that my friends and I have affectionately referred to as "Scolala's" over the years, has been sold and will soon undergo 'remodeling'. I'm really not sure exactly what that entails, but I'm doubtful that we can just consider what's happening to Scolari's "growth." I'm very weary of what's to happen. I was in the bar the day that Chandra was told who would get to keep their jobs. Both T-Bone and Chandra, bartenders there, seemed pretty distraught over the whole thing. After starting at Scolari's that night (a couple of Friday's ago), Bryan and I decided to give the newer bars a spin. We had a drink at the Pink Elephant, and then walked to U-31. At both bars, we ended up trying to finish our drinks as quickly as we could so that we could get the hell out of there and go back to Scolari's. On our way back, we ran into Chandra and T-Bone, who had both decided the take a look into the Pink Elephant. We met right at the corner of 30th and University, and with unanimous disappointment, walked back to Scolari's after Chandra turned to us and said "Let's go home." I think we spent the last hour before last call in a very nearly empty Scolari's dancing to Marky Mark and the Funky bunch (I stood on the pool table and dropped my pants saying "Yeah, come on, feel it! Yeah, come on, Dance!") and Madonna. I fear that Scolari's just won't be home anymore. I've lived in San Diego for 10 years, and lived within 2 miles of Scolari's for the last 6 years at 5 different addresses (including a the apartment complex next to Claire De Lune across the alley from Scolari's that I got booted from after they were approved for condo conversion). That is/was the appeal of Scolari's to me, that regardless of what was going on around town, no matter where I had been before, Scolari's was always there. I don't know how many times I've been to shows at the Casbah, the Che, The Tower, The Ken, The Zombie, Pink Elephant, or the Brass Rail.... and ended my night at Scolari's office afterwards. It's almost as many times as I've been to Scolari's without any idea who was going to play, only to be totally blown away by a band. Before I ever met Cullen or the Jasons, I saw The North Atlantic at Scolari's. I had no idea who was playing, and had never heard of the North Atlantic. I ended becoming good friends with them after instantly becoming a fan at Scolari's. I even took pictures. Scolari's is an institution. Playing Scolari's is a rite of passage. I have a lot of doubts about it being the same after 'remodeling.' Worries about the Bro-deo clowns infiltrating North Park aside, consider the potential consequences from the performers point of view. The canceling of their entire entertainment calendar doesn't show much consideration by the management for what the institution means for bands. This does not bode well for touring bands in particular. Different management is no doubt going to mean a different live music model. There is NO other venue in San Diego that has a more effective model for live music. There is no cover ever. I've never booked or played a show where the bar didn't have at least something to give bands as the end of the night, and always free drinks for performers.

Now, let's consider the alternatives comparatively.

U-31
I had just played U-31 with Batwings the Wednesday before our little walk. I really felt like they have a huge opportunity to take a commanding role as the premiere live music venue in North Park, but I don't think they are going to take it. I was impressed by the new layout, they have a nice PA, and they are building a stage (eh). It's really nice and cozy there. The room's a bit echo-ey but not to bad. After having played, we were informed that the owner/manager was weary about having us on the bill at all. Maybe it was because we are considerably more "aggressive" or "noisy" than the other bands on the bill. I understand that, we're not for everyone, but I still get the feeling that this doesn't indicate that they are going to make a dent with the multitude of bands that would otherwise book Scolari's... Then I was there on a Friday. No bands, just a DJ. It was not necessarily my vibe, but it seemed wildly successful. There were tons of people there. Bryan and I sat down, and in the ten minutes we were there witnessed several cases of attempted dance-rape (like most Man Diego dance venues, women were waaay outnumbered). It was kind of surreal, actually. The point is, if they could pack the place without live music, why would they go out of their way to book smaller touring independent bands? Simple answer is, they aren't going to. A lot of the staff are Beauty Bar transplants, and a lot of the security was recruited from the mixed martial arts (like UFC) gym down the block. It's AC Lounge all over again. They might have shows at first, but that'll fade just like the live music at Club Blue Foot did. Residual Buster Daly's clientele should be pleased with the change, as well as the transplanted Beauty Bar crowd.

Bar Pink Elephant
They seemed to have quickly carved a niche that seems to work just fine. There's a happy balance of new patrons, residual Dino's hip-hoppers, Fancy haircut hipsters, Punks bored with or sick of the mildew smell at Scolari's, and everything in between. Live music is a part of the equation, but a comfortably small one.

Zombie Lounge
Even when there are only five fucking people at the Zombie Lounge they charge a cover to pay for the fucking DJs who get paid on a guarantee. I like the Zombie (when there's no cover, but they have their rockabilly/greaser niche carved pretty deep. They've got their thing going.

The Ken
They might have a better PA, but hires out for a sound guy, which could mean less money for bands. Most bands we've played with are dissatisfied with the sound afterward anyway. More often than not, the Ken charges a cover. They also allow complete separation between patrons and performers. The captive audience, or the unsuspecting audience is huge for bands who tour or play out as a means of promotion. The bookers don't go to the shows that they book. They have their heads up their asses most of the time. Booking there is an absolute headache without an 'in.'

Chaser's
This place is even scummier, with even more shady regulars than Scolari's, but still my best guess for a "replacement." They've got a great layout so that the strictly sit down and drink contingent can still see what's going on on stage without necessarily having to be as bothered by it if they don't want to be. Also, I now live like 2 blocks from there (though I've only been there once).

Shooterz
I can't think of a single good thing coming from the sale of Shooterz to the owners of PB Bar and Grill. I doubt they have any interest in hosting live music anyway.

Club Bluefoot
They had a very short-lived opportunity to be a significant live music venue, but fucked that up. They seemingly instantaneously established a clientele that didn't seem to have more than a casual interest in live music.
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Scolari's is fucking dead!...?

Could this be the end of an era? Seriously, I leave town for a few days and return to find that my computer has taken a dump on me, and now this! What the fuck? I smell a boycott, I just wish the staff well. Chandra, T-Bone, Javi, Eric, Kocomo, Donny, Tony, Darrell, and everybody else... good luck.

a myspace bulletin from Scolari's office posted just minutes ago reads:

" ALL SHOWS CANCELLED AT THE OFFICE PLEASE READ!

I am so sad to have to post this bulletin. I just received a phone call telling me that all entertainment at Scolaris office has been cancelled. I have been told that it has something to do with complaints and police reports. The bar was recently sold, so I think this may be a major factor. I have expressed to the management how this will affect bands tour schedules and how much time, effort and money bands have put into playing at Scolaris. We are working on moving everything to another bar and will let you know as soon as something develops.

Bands, please feel free to message me and I will do my best to find you somewhere to play. Unfortunately due to the number of bands that this will affect I can't guarantee anything"

Reactions so far:
Matt S. (Bartender's Bible, The Long and Short of It):

"It was only a matter of time, but the yuppies win again. All I can say is fuck Bar Dynamite, fuck the developers, and fuck anyone who bought one of those hideous condos. "

The Dissimilars:

"To the new owners of Scolari's Office and the residents of the condos across the street:

Suck our dicks.

Love,
The Dissimilars"

Death on Mars:

"This is truly a shame. That place is an institution in the local and national music scene, as many of us know. Hopefully something can happen to continue the tradition of being a kickass place to see, hear and experience what live music is all about. Viva Scolari's Office!!!"

My reaction on behalf of Batwings:

"What the fuck are we going to do now!?

We had a show booked for the 16th of February that we were very excited for. We had confirmed Channing Cope (which now features Brandon Relf from Sleeping People on drums!), Totally Serious (members of Bad Dudes), The Evening Episode (members of An Angle and Scene Index), and us. It was to be a special occasion for us too, as we would be joined by our former guitarist Todd Price on stage for the very last time. WHAT THE FUCK!

Please, if you have any ideas about how to save this show, let us know. At very least, we need to find another show for The Evening Episode, who will be on tour at the time.

www.myspace.com/theeveningepisode

if T-Bone and Chandra get canned, there will be no reason to ever go back to Scolari's Office."

I am disturbed.

I am substituting for a high school History class. Apparently, the teacher did not expect to be sick today. There are no lesson plans whatsoever, and it's the first day of the semester. This sucks considering they are on a block schedule and each class is an hour and fifty minutes long. There's a TV in the classroom, and an interesting show keeps the kids behaved. So, I just let the kids watch whatever they wanted. All the previous classes had decided on the Cartoon Network, or Nickelodeon. So, during the last period of the day I started reading a bit and stopped paying attention to what they were watching until I heard an Adolescents song in the background of an episode of Wildboyz.  Shit, all I need is for the kids to come back and tell their teacher that they watched an Chameleon eat a bug out of Knoxville's ass, or Steve-o shooting mezcal and eating the worm, or Pontius trimming ass hair from his bikini line. Awesome. I'm a terrible sub. Later, a group of students had been sitting in a circle talking. When I changed the channel, the volume on the next program got much quieter, but their game of "never have I ever" didn't . What the fuck is going on....

I can't believe I get paid for this shit. 

May the lord have mercy on the next generation.

Calico Horse and Bunky @ Scolari's Office

On Friday Dec 28, 2007 I went to Scolari's Office to see Calico Horse. Singer/guitarist/pianist, Emily Neveu, is a very talented artist and musician, and a friend of mine. She did the artwork for Cat Dirt's Sessions Fest poster as well as all the artwork for the band. She had a short stint as the bassist for The Muslims. While the band was still called The Clockwork Army they changed drummers more than Spinal Tap. They even tried out and turned down the drummer for now defunct Alta Voz, which always made me scratch my head. They recorded the aptly named A Catalyst for Change Ep, and came out of the year long process with only two members. The new lineup consists of Dave Pettijohn on bass (the only other surviving member of The Clockwork Army), and two Loud+Clear Records alumni, Matt Mournian on guitar (singer/guitarist of Goodbye Blue Monday), and Tom (I don't know his last name) on drums (Comfortable For You, Lily White, and a Drive Like Jehu cover band). They only played a 6 song set which was a little dissapointing, but Emily was sick, and didn't seem to be in the highest spirits. She seemed a little irritated that she and the two other members had to wait on stage for Matt. She has a very powerful voice, and it didn't seem too affected by her illness. She played guitar on all but one song, during which she played the piano. The songs during which she played guitar seemed a bit thin. It seemed as though Matt's guitar didn't play much of a substantive role. As for the song that she played piano, on the other hand, I'd guess that Matt had a stronger role in writing the song, but it was easily the fullest, most spirited song of the set. I did really enjoy the set, but in general, they all seemed kind of stoic. Petti's amp became unplugged a couple of times, and he just kind of casually strolled over to plug it back in. They didn't play anything off of the A Catalyst for Change Ep. One of the songs they have up on their myspace profile, "Awake in the Clouds," reminds me of the chorus in "Lose Me" by Denali, but Emily's voice is a bit deeper than Mara Davis'. They have a ton of potential, especially considering they have somewhat of an "all-star" lineup. I've always been a big fan of Comfortable for You, Goodbye Blue Monday, and everything that Emily has done previously, so I'll be anxiously awaiting a healthy and more prolific Calico Horse.

Bunky is always fun. I really enjoy it when band appears to be having a good time while they play. If you've never seen them, Emily Joyce sings while playing the drums, which is impressive. She's also a bartender at the Casbah. Rosey at Sddialedin, who saw Bunky two days later when they played again at the Casbah said "Emily has one of the sweetest voices in San Diego, and the fact that she's always laughing and joking and giggling onstage, makes her so endearing, even when she thinks she's mauling a new song. The horn section separates the band from most others, and with Rafter on guitar, you've got a sure fire crowd pleasin' band with the batch of us in the front all singing and bopping along to the music." I didn't take any pictures of Bunky. I was kind of drunk by then. There are some of Rosey's pictures from their Casbah show here.

Your New Years Resolution! (Batwings Returns)

Just before the new year, Batwings had to make some adjustments, and we took a small hiatus. We're back to play our first show in San Diego with new songs, and new member, Larry Stage. Unfortunately, Todd Price has left the band. It was a very amicable split, and we are excited for Todd as he moves on to do other things. We could never thank him enough for what he did for us as a band. We wouldn't have ever been in a band at all if we hadn't met Todd. We will be playing one more show with Todd in February as a sort of goodbye and thank you. But tomorrow (Friday January 4th) we are going to debut some of the new material, but more importantly, we set up the show for our new out of town friends Planets, Manacle, and Short Hair, from Reno. It's going to be awesome. I've already posted a little bit about Planets here.

The tour for Planets, Short Hair, and Manacle will continue with an all ages show at the Che Cafe. They will all be playing with Japandi on Sunday the 6th.

You've been warned.