Feuds!

Well the fires are under control. People trying to return to normalcy FDR style...

In other news, does anybody follow Hip Hop feuds/battles? I started following this Lil Wayne Vs. Gillie da Kid squabble. It was recently brought to my attention and I think it's kind of funny/interesting like a train wreck, like reality TV. These feuds, or "Beefs," always do a lot for publicity (Ex. Eazy E Vs. Ice Cube, Jay-Z Vs Nas, 50 Cent Vs. The Game/Cam'Ron, Ludacris Vs T.I. ... the list is endless). However, some of them can get out of hand. Lil Kim was convicted of perjury concerning a shootout between her entourage and that of Capone/Noreaga. Young Buck's hotel afterparty in Washington got shot up by "rival rappers." Of course the most notorious of all disputes ended up with Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. both dead. Somebody got shot over the shit with 50 Cent and The Game as well, who together have survived a combined 16 gunshot wounds.

So, the Lil Wayne dis is probably about a year old now, but I think it's still unresolved and still talked about. Lil Wayne aka Weezy F. Baby, Young Carter, Birdman Jr. dissed Gillie Da Kid in a song, and the shit has been going back and forth since. Some shit you might not have known about Lil' Wayne; he had a daughter at 14, and before he signed to Cash Money Records he shot himself in the chest on accident and put himself on life support for a few weeks. He appears in a controversial photo where it looks like he's kissing Cash Money Records founder, Brian "Baby" Williams aka Stunna, or Birdman, whom he also refers to as his father. Gillie Da Kid, who also calls himself the King of Philly, claimed to have written some of Lil Wayne's lyrics. Early in his career he signed with, but left Cash Money Records. Now, there are rumors that 50 Cent and G-Unit are interested in signing him. Early this year he got arrested along with 5 other people when the FBI found a half a million dollars worth of weed in 2 houses allegedly run by Gillie. It was something like 90 lbs of marijuana. Gillie wears a piece on his chain that he says has 1096 diamonds in it. Lil Wayne borrowed it to wear in a video. Now there's shit between Jay-Z and LL Cool J too. I didn't know Hip Hop was a such a fucking soap opera. Holla atcha boy!

Here's one of the videos in response to the dis

Though they don't usually end up with somebody dying, rock band feuds can be fun too. Dwarves singer, Blag Dahlia, got hit over the fucking head with a bottle by Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme after saying "This one goes out to Queens of the Trust Fund/You slept on my floor/And now I'm sleeping through your motherfucking records" in a song on the Dwarves last album. One of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis said that he hoped Damon Albarn of Blur "catches AIDS and Dies." It was pretty rad when Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks wore a F.U.T.K. (Fuck U Toby Keith) shirt to the American Country Music Awards. Seriously, fuck that guy. Jack White really fucked up Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer for something he said in the press. The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre feud was pretty sweet. Anton from BJM is fucking crazy, and sent personalized gunshot shells, prompting the Dandies to file for a restraining order. But come on, Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy/Bravery and The Killers? Snorefest.

[Jason Stollsteimer after meeting with Jack White's Fist]

Oh and Mike Patton should beat the shit out of Anthony Keidis. please.

FIRESTORM!

They called it Firestorm in 2003 as well. I'm in Riverside until Friday. All my work got canceled for next week.

I would like to keep everybody posted in all the fire stuff, but I'm out of San Diego and out of the loop myself. So, I'll just direct you to the places I've been getting my information...

Sign On San Diego's Fireblog
Dirtbag's Delight
SD Dialed In
Cat Dirt Sez

Not Fox News, who would have you believe that all seeing, all powerful, Al Qaeda terrorists burnt up all dem peoples' houses.

Gotta work.

Have we learned nothing from O.J. Simpson?

Bill Maher once said to Ralph Nader, while pleading him not to run for president, "I'm giving this [picture of O.J. Simpson] to remind you that someone can have a lifetime of being considered a hero and then ruin it because of one thing."

The lesson should have been considered this week when comments made by 79 year old DNA science pioneer James Watson got him suspended from his position in the lab he was working in, and his book tour canceled. Basically, he said Africans are less intelligent than westerners, and he went on and on. What he said is being called a disservice to science, and he has been denounced by the The Federation of American Scientists. I don't think he gets to keep the title "Grandfathter of DNA." Nobody says "Heisman Trophy Winner O.J. Simpson" anymore. He can keep the Nobel Prize he won in 1962 for co-discovering the structure of DNA in the same place O.J. Keeps his Heisman, where nobody fucking cares anymore.

Here's what he said:

"inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really"
He went on to say in the profile that it would be nice if all groups were equal, but that "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

Old Fart.

Sold out. Fest Prep.

The Black Lips, Spits, Heartaches, Sess show was sold out by the time I got there. I knew it was going to sell out, but I didn't want to go alone. So, I waited for Gabe, Wolf, and Janelle. We were late. We did not get in.

Back up plan: Tiltwheel, In the Red, and Vena Cava at Kadan. All three bands were gearing up to make their way out to Gainesville for The Fest.

Voz Alta and Good Intentions

This Sunday, (10/21) Batwings will play at what Cullen referrered to as "well intentioned, but acoustically challenged" Voz Alta Downtown, next to Landlord Jim's, down the street from City College. Also performing will be Hostile Combover, The Fever Sleeves, and The Vaginals. The show is a benefit for S.O.T.I. - Survivors of Torture International

Playing Catch Up.

So things are busy as usual. Finally got my dog Chancho back. Started subbing again. Trying to start skating a little again. Got some EFC T-shirts printed. Going out of town again next week. ...Just trying to catch up so that I can eventually keep up with the world.

On Saturday (10/13) I went to Mexicali to catch Cat Dirt Records' own, Fifty on their Heels, a DJ set by Blake Miller of Moving Units, and Mexicali "hardcore with a keyboard" locals Lipstick Terror. The bar had a pretty cool setup. There was a separate stage in the back with its own bar. Lipstick Terror didn't take the back stage until nearly midnight. This was before Blake Miller's Dj set started, so there were actually people in there to see them. Granted, Lipstick Terror is a relatively popular local band, but by the time Fifty on Their Heels set up and began to play Blake Miller's "Puro Party" dj set was in full swing, and the back room remained relatively empty. It was pretty dissapointing how much time was wasted, and how little effort there was to showcase each act. My sentiments couldn't be expressed better than this article for City Beat by Cullen Hendrix or Shane from Cabron's blog, A Coat of Red Paint in Hell, which said, among other things, "Music that is spun should be either relegated to the background, or put in the forefront to stand alone and get asses shaking, it should supplement a band not be an equal ‘performing’ entity." Tons of kids showed up for Blake Miller, unfortunately dancing to his set was excluded seeing Fifty on Their Heels. Bummer. Cat Dirt Sez also had some words about Lipstick Terror and the Border Scene.

I missed Two Gallants last night (10/17) at the Casbah. They're an exciting two piece, who know how to tell a story with a song. One of Saddlecreek's newer additions. They played with two bands I've not yet heard of, Blitzen Trapper and Songs For Mom.

Tonight (Thursday 10/18) gear up for a hell of a punk/garage showdown. The Black Lips, The Spits, The Heartaches, and The Sess at the Casbah. If you're lucky you might catch some full frontal male nudity, band members urinating into their own mouths, and just general shenanigary. You can definitely count on seeing a shitload of punks drinking a shitload of beer, and professional skateboarder/punk drummer, Kristian Svitak, beating skins for the Heartaches. The Sess is one of my favorite local bands, who are in my opinion, underrated and by far the best and most talented of the group of buzzy local bands that get lumped together (atoms, powerchords, muslims, prayers, vultures...) They play the Atari lounge.

On Saturday (10/10), Batwings played Scolari's again. Ah, home sweet home. We played with the Frauds, Cabron, and The Dissimilars. Cabron, our "shit smelling practice space" buddies, just released Mexican Shoe Thief which I have yet to hear. I did however just discover the Blog by band member Shane, which is complete with band interviews and in depth reviews, called A Coat of Red Paint in Hell. The Frauds played first. After they were done, they fought for most of rest of the night. Now, by "fought," I don't mean they simply argued. Sure, that was part of it, but so were fisticuffs, physical assault. They actually got into it and started punching each other in the face inside the bar. The drummer went to the merch table and yelled "Get your Frauds merch, this might be your last chance." At one point one of the members went outside and began banging the shit out of his head on the wall. They yelled at each other all damn night. "You want a piece of me? Take a fucking shot big man!," "Your so fucking punk man!" At one point at the end of the night a small group of us were torn between what to watch, an obviously wasted girl attempting (unsuccessfully) to pull out of a parallel parked spot without hitting the cars in front of or behind her own, or the drummer and guitarist of the Frauds yelling and clawing at each other. It was quite a show. Actually, it was really uncomfortable. Cabron played really well. It's really a testament to taste and ability to see Leo sing for Cabron one night and play bass in his other band Fkenal. The Dissimilars bought their familiar brand of punk with gusto, as singer Jimmy crawled all over the bar with mask and cape. It was a fun night.


Not only have I been lazy, but the weather is keeping me shitty, so I missed Wild Weekend on Sunday (10/07). Yeah, if I weren't actually in the band, I probably would have missed the Batwings show at Scolari's and gone to see Sleeping People and Kill Me Tomorrow. Cullen reviewed it here. T-Bone is playing additional percussion for KMT which brings his band count to somewhere around 5 or 6, I think. Sleeping people will soon be going on tour with the Locust. Bobby Bray of the Locust was recently in attendance at one of his girlfriend's shows at the Brooklyn House AKA Ninja House. Maria Cochina's two piece noise band The Vaginals played as well as the band my younger brother was on tour with, Alak Alas Alaska. Fkenal also played featuring Leo fromCabron on bass guitar. Their drummer is a badass.

I still have yet to hear the new Radiohead album. Also missed Rogue Wave last week at the Casbah, Cattle Decapitation covered in molasses at Scolari's, and Polysics and Numbers at the Casbah. Damnit.


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The Red Room rules.

Back when I was in Long Beach for work, I went to a very cool bar called The Red Room. It was kind of small and divey, but not too filthy, just the way I like it. It seemed as though they knew their clientele and catered to them well. There were lot's of young "cool" people, skateboarders and the like, but not too hip. It wasn't a fashion show or a meat market, much more quiet and chill. Well, i think it was a Tuesday, so maybe that had something to do with it. Well on this particular tuesday night there were no meth addicts, no old timer day crowd residuals, no costumed postured hipsters posing, no hooting and hollering Fratboys insisting upon Jaeger shots. No, just giant glass mugs of domestic beer for 4 bucks and your choice of several skate videos playing on a loop. I watched the new Listen video "Viajero's Locos" video with Danny Montoya and Rob Gonzalez like 5 times over. It was pretty awesome. I guess on Sundays they let you bring in your iPod and let patrons Dj for 15 minutes at a time. What a killer idea. The bar is highly recommended!... just make sure it's a Tuesday, or I can't guarantee you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


All photos taken from The Red Room website