The All Time Lows

I went down to Santa Cruz to see PJ Harvey at the Catalyst last weekend, but didn't bother to get a photo pass. The security guard nazis were out in full effect, and with nothing better to do, they posted themselves all over the place looking for people with cameras. The "no cameras" rule has gotta be one of the stupidest rules for gorilla ass security guards to enforce. Anyone should be able to take a picture of a band at a concert.
I took this photo with a Canon SD10 with the flash off. I turned the camera off, and the next song I took another picture, but the flash went off. That's when I noticed security guard dude posted up on the balcony pointing in my general direction. Thankfully, the SD10 is about the size of a credit card, so I stuck it in my sock. I was hoping they'd come up to me and ask for the camera. I was going to tell them that I had no camera and let them search me. I was so looking forward to asking them if they wanted me to take my pants off.

Mesh contributor, cartoonist, writer, lunchboxer and dog lover, Jamie Flam threw another of his New Expression partays last night at the RX Gallery in the heart of San Francisco's beautiful Tenderloin district. For those of you planning your first trip to San Francisco, I highly recommend you head straight for the Tenderloin. Try leaving some $20 bills hanging out your pocket; people will think you're a local. The 'Loin (as we San Franciscans call it) is a vibrant community full of many different cultures. It is also the center of the San Francisco Docent program. There are many docents in the neighborhood to welcome you to the City. They will be happy to tell you jokes and sell you various mementos, such as crack rocks and blowjobs. The Tenderloin: A Little Slice of Heaven in the Heart of San Francisco.

I digress... There was a mellow vibe around the night's proceedings, aided by the allergy medicine that was knocking me unconscious. DJs spun a wide variety of music and there was art from Alex Bale, Matt Furie, Jay Goitia, Numb, OGI, Matthew Ro, Michelle Romo, Sita Rupe, Deth P. Sun, Andrea Tucker and Nick Z.

In addition to super fresh people in the house, there were super fresh videos, some that we got to see three or four times. There was an excellent Powerpoint presentation on the excellence of burritos, animated Triangle and Mac, an instructional video on shit talking and everyone's favorite, "Dogs in Hats."

Girl looking at art:



Dude looking at art:



Jamie Flam making out with another dog:



The artist Zenaida Sengo getting taken advantage of by DJ Andra:



World famous animator Chiara and Zenaida hiding behind her giant cocktail:



The man himself, Jamie Flam:

The first rule of Google Adsense is that you're not supposed to talk about Adsense, however they have been so infuriating lately that I can't help myself. First of all, our blogs no longer come up on Google for some reason, and the ads at the top no longer update. Plus, I keep getting these fucking republican ads at the top of my page. I add them to this filter thing that's supposed to stop them and they keep coming. like Singlerepublican.com... who the fuck would want to date a republican?! Jesus fucking Christ!

Not only does the Dave Matthews Band make lots of shitty music, they also make lots of actual shit. Apparently, this pseudo-hippy group likes to dump their feces in our rivers. The state of Illinois is suing the Dave Matthews Band for dumping up to 800 pounds(!) of sewage into the Chicago River on August 8th. Somebody been eating beans.

Showing dignity rare for a politician, republican Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska said in a letter that he believes the war in Iraq was a mistake (now only if Kerry would). Some highlights:
"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action especially without a broad and engaged international coalition. The cost in casualties is already large and growing, and the immediate and long-term financial costs are incredible. Now we are immersed in a dangerous, costly mess and there is no easy and quick way to end our responsibilities in Iraq without creating bigger future problems in the region and, in general, in the Muslim world."
Luckily for Bereuter, he's retiring, so the inevitable republican smear campaign (which is already under way with other republicans in congress saying that he is angry because he didn't get appointed to certain commissions), won't have an effect on his political career.

My favorite republican:

Read our interview with John Reis.

Last night I was reading the American Heritage Dictionary, looking up curse words, because, you know, that's what I like to do. What's great about the American Heritage Dictionary is that it has word histories for many of the words in it, including "hooker" and "fuck." Let's discuss the latter.
The first written version of the word appears in a poem from the 15th Century, "Flen, Flyss". The line in which fuck is used is written in code, "gxddbov." Take the previous letter in the alphabet (which was different back then) and you get "fuccant," which is pseudo-Latin for "they fuck." The line in which it was used is, "They (the friars) are not in heaven because they fuck the wives of Ely (a town)."
Congratulations on learning yourself something.

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH JOHN REIS.
I just got a promo of the new Hot Snakes album, Audit in Progress, in the mail today and, holy shit does it rock! I was BLASTING this all during my lunch break. From the get go, on "Braintrust", the album completely explodes. The sound is just unstoppable, John Reis' guitar-playing is slamming like a bullet train to Vegas once again, with some crazy rhythms influenced by Asian and Turkish psychedlic blues according to the press release. Is there really Asian and Turkish psychedlic blues that sounds like this? And where can I get some records of it? Rick Fork/Froberg wails through the mic, on one track he sounds completely hardcore, reminding me a bit of a slightly less grating Eric Ozenne from Redemption 87. Kids, this is punk rock. Put away your emo records and listen to what the rock Gods have to say.

Track listing:

1. Braintrust
2. Hi-Lites
3. Retrofit
4. Kreative Kontrol
5. Think About Carbs
6. Audit In Progress
7. Hatchet Job
8. This Mystic Decade
9. Lovebirds
10. Reflex
11. Hair ad DNA
12. Plenty For All

Also, the cover art was once again done by Rick Fork and features a personified soccer ball, a pirate, a fleur de lis and a cat with a sword. As you can probably tell, it's completely awesome. I'll post the cover tomorrow.

Our friends over at Lunchboxing are throwing another of their legendary New Expression shows at the RX Gallery on August 26th. They got these crazy videos and artwork from Alex Bale, Matt Furie, Jay Goitia, Numb, OGI, Matthew Ro, Michelle Romo, Sita Rupe, Deth P. Sun, Andrea Tucker, and Nick Z. Plus, music from some supa-DJs all night long. Only $5... that's some entertainment value.

Here's Lunchboxing's Jamie Flam on it:

I wanted to inform you all that the next New Expression art/music/funny video extravaganza will be taking place next week, on Thursday, August 26th at the RX Gallery once again! It's called "Hot August Night" because it's going to be a night of sizzling (hot) good times. Also, it's in the evening. And in August. And a reference to a sincerely riveting Neil Diamond record. Love it. We have a mind-blowing line-up of new artists, videos, and a bunch of great DJ's coming out to rock your world, so mark your calendars and tell all your friends and extended family members to do the same.

Thursday, August 26th, 8pm - 2am
$5 Admission
RX Gallery
132 Eddy Street @ Mason
1 Block west of Powell Street BART
415.474.7973
www.lunchboxing.com/newexpression

Someone sent me this:

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CONVENTION SCHEDULE

New York, NY

6:00 PM - Opening Prayer led by the Reverend Jerry Falwell

6:30 PM - Pledge of Allegiance

6:35 PM - Ceremonial Burning of Bill of Rights (excluding 2nd
Amendment)

6:45 PM - Salute to the "Coalition of the Willing"

6:46 PM - Seminar #1: Katherine Harris on "Are Elections Really
Necessary?"

7:30 PM - Announcement: Lincoln Memorial Renamed for Ronald Reagan

7:35 PM - Trent Lott - "Re-segregation in the 21st Century"

7:40 PM - EPA Address #1: "Mercury: It's What's for Dinner"

8:00 PM - Vote on which country to invade next

8:10 PM - Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh

8:15 PM - John Ashcroft Lecture: "The Homos Are After Your Children"

8:30 PM - Round table discussion on reproductive rights (Men Only)

8:50 PM - Seminar #2: "Corporations: The Government of the Future"

9:05 PM - Phyllis Schlafly speaks on "Why Women Shouldn't Be Leaders"

9:10 PM - EPA Address #2: "Trees: The Real Cause of Forest Fires"

9:30 PM - Break for secret meetings

10:00 PM - Second Prayer led by Cal Thomas

10:15 PM - Carl Rove Lecture: "Doublespeak Made Simple"

10:30 PM - Rumsfeld Lecture/Demonstration: "How to Squint and Talk Macho Even When You Feel Squishy Inside"

10:35 PM - Bush demonstration of trademark "deer in headlights" stare

10:40 PM - John Ashcroft Demonstration: New Mandatory Kevlar Chastity Belt

10:46 PM - Ann Coulter's Tribute to "Joe McCarthy, American Patriot"

10:50 PM - Seminar #3: "Education: A Drain on Our Nation's Economy"

11:10 PM - Hilary Clinton Piñata

11:20 PM - John Ashcroft Lecture: "Evolutionists: A Dangerous New
Cult"

11:30 PM - Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh again

11:35 PM - Blame Clinton

11:40 PM - Newt Gingrich speaks on "The Sanctity of Marriage">

11:41 PM - Announcement: Ronald Reagan to be added to Mt. Rushmore

11:50 PM - Closing Prayer led by Jesus Himself

12:00 Mid - Nomination of George W. Bush as Holy Supreme Planetary
Overlord

The Olympic torch in Athens was lit yesterday in a ceremony hosted on NBC by the excrusiatingly annoying Bob Costas. It looks like a giant cockus, and as if that wasn't bad enough, after being lit by some Greek guy, it slowly raised to erect position. In it's final resting position, it looks like a giant penis with flames coming out of the head. Better get that checked out Athens. We'll get you some antibiotics and you'll be back on the street in no time.

I was flipping through the channels earlier and saw Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury singing together on PBS. I don't think I'm gonna be able to get an erection for a couple of weeks.

These guys in LA [Eman Laerton (not real name) and a cameraman] go around to concerts with a bullhorn and let Hoobastank fans (and the like) know that they have bad taste in music. The videos are hilarious. Go watch:

www.youhavebadtasteinmusic.com

Craig Newmark, the man behind craigslist.org announced today that part of the company (yes, craigslist is an official corporation) was purchased by eBay. Apparently Craig had given some equity to a craigslist employee, who then approached eBay trying to sell it. eBay then approached Craig, who agreed that a partnership would beneficial to craigslist. You can read Craig's side of the story here. You can read the ranting and raving about it on craigslist here. I found my job on craigslist. I found my apartment on craigslist, and I've bought baseball and concert tickets. It's great... but some people are obsessive about craigslist. They spend all their time in the forums. I imagine these fools, gon' be pissed.
It's kind of scary, seems like once this process of corporatization starts, it can't be stopped. I see a hostile takeover in craigslist's future. Tacky commercials for craigslist? Maybe. I can only see eBay instituting bad changes, charging more for job listings, charging to post items for sale, etc. They are a corporation, and a publicly-owned company's sole goal is to make a profit.

Yeah, you all know what Buddyhead is, and I haven't kept up on their gossip section lately, but occasionally they write something hilarious:

Story Of The Year, and the 3,476 other mall screamo / jock metal hybrid bands with shants, bad tattoos, lip piercings, shiny wireless metal guitars, skate shoes, and have singers who tap their chests when they sing, should all be stabbed in the face. This crap makes Pennywise look bad ass. We can thank the Warped Tour for these crimes against humanity. We're in our mid 20's, and this shit makes us feel old. Yeah... we're so old kids, we remember when Victory Records was a hardcore label!

I remember when Victory Records was a hardcore label too. I wrote these crazy bad reviews for a couple of their albums in the now defunct Bay Area Buzz, but for some reason they keep sending albums to Mesh.

Because the Bush Administration refuses to admit that we don't have enough troops for the misguided war we're fighting and because they refuse to re-institute the draft before the election, rent-a-cops are being used to protect our Army bases. Comforting to know that in these times of color-coded terror warnings, that we don't have enough people in the Army to protect their own bases.

The closer we get to election day, the more horrified I am that Bush will be re-elected. Please help get rid of him. Visit www.moveon.org and contribute. Visit our friends at Punk Voter, donate and buy the new Rock Against Bush CD. It's got the most hilarious Will Ferrell as Bush skit on it. Visit www.drivingvotes.com and head to a swing state to register voters.

ImageShack let's you host your pictures on their server for free. Pretty dope. Prolly some FBI conspiracy to keep track of people's photos, but cool.

Following the New York Times' lead, The Washington Post has admitted that it's pre-war coverage of Iraq was flawed as editors were reluctant to challenge President Bush's claims about weapons of mass destruction. Oh, that liberal press.

In other news, the stock market is plummeting, a major offensive has been launched by the US in Iraq (wasn't our mission accomplished a year and a half ago?) and my allergies are kicking my ass.

NEW! Read our interview with JOHN REIS.

My favortie rock 'n' roll band, Hot Snakes, is about to release its third album, Audit in Progress on Swami Records. If you don't know who Hot Snakes are, you better learn yo'self. From the ashes of Drive Like Jehu, this band is amazing, and maybe the best live band I've ever seen. I may be totally biased... I even have the cover of Jehu's Yank Crime tattooed on me... but check this album out rockers. Here is the press release I got today:

HOT SNAKES latest offering is currently at the plant and getting pressed up for an October 5th release. The record is called Audit In Progress and will be available on CD and red vinyl LP. It is the first recordings with new drummer Mario Rubalcaba. Those familiar with Mario have seen him over the years with Rocket from the Crypt, Black Heart Procession, Clikitat Ikatowi and Sea Of Tombs amongst others. Mario's highly stylized tomahawk propulsion beats and velocity enriched pounding serves as the perfect backbone for the Hot Snakes new improved sooooper sinister sound.

Audit In Progress is obviously more intensified than the first Hot Snakes offering (Automatic Midnight) and is more creative sonically than the last (Suicide Invoice). Rick's vocals really let loose with a strained, pissed confidence that somewhat resembles his earlier howling with Drive Like Jehu. John's relentless guitar hammering remains full of dissonance and subtle tonal nuggetry and is informed by Asian and Turkish psychedelic blues. Gar Wood's continued development as a crucial figure in the band is cemented by the addition of bass guitar to almost every track as well as his conceptual recording techniques. Mario is widely regarded as one of the fiercest trap kit players on the West Coast and for once he has been captured in a most flattering light.

The sub sonics of past work has been reintroduced with speaker blowing defiance. To blast it is to love it. Audit In Progress comes wrapped in a beautiful designed sleeve by Rick. His art further defines what Hot Snakes are about and sets the band apart from the pablum puking pack. The band recorded with Ben Moore (who worked with the band on the first two albums) as well as recording some of it on their own at world renown (and recently shut down) Drag Racist Studios, San Diego. Hot Snakes have quite a lot of activity booked for the upcoming months and are starting everything off with a West Coast/East Coast warm up tour to kick off on Sept. 30. They are confirmed for a Peel session on Oct. 14th and plan to tour through Summer of 05.


HOT SNAKES
on tour

9-30-04 @ Mason Jar (Phoenix, AZ)
10-01-04 @ Epicentre (San Diego, CA)
10-02-04 @ Troubadour (Los Angeles, CA)
10-03-04 @ Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA)
10-07-04 @ North Star Bar (Philadelphia, PA)
10-08-04 @ Ottobar (Baltimore, MD)
10-09-04 @ Northsix (Brooklyn, NY)
10-10-04 @ Knitting Factory (NYC)


Audit In Progress track listing:

1. Braintrust
2. Hi-Lites
3. Retrofit
4. Kreative Kontrol
5. Think About Carbs
6. Audit In Progress
7. Hatchet Job
8. This Mystic Decade
9. Lovebirds
10. Reflex
11. Hair ad DNA
12. Plenty For All

We're looking another good woman or man to join the Mesh Magazine print (NOT WEB) industry as an account executive. You need major drive, communication skills, a passion for music, art and fashion and you must live in the Bay Area. Experience important, but not necessary. E-mail us at
info@meshsf.com

My roommate went to see that hippy documentary Festival Express (no thank you) last night at the Lumiere. There was a screening of The Brown Bunny by Vincent Gallo at the theatre as well. This is the same Brown Bunny that Roger Ebert called the worst film ever made to which Gallo responded by calling Ebert a fat pig.
My roommate and his friend snuck in to watch the film and were treated to a talk from the right wing filmmaker himself in which he ranted against liberals and discussed the film.

Whoa, just when he got famous again, Rick James died today: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=7&u=/ap/20040806/ap_on_en_mu/obit_james

R.I.P. Rick James

Aye Jay Morano, world-famous illustrator and artist (and the co-creator of Lil Ol Dirty), is stirring up havok in the not-so-dirty South:

http://www.free-times.com/News/News_Archives/News_2004/news072104.html#rap

I first read about this in Max Power's blog here.

Kruk is back and last night he added: "Quit chokin' your chicken, kid" to his repertoire.

Welcome to one of the 2,478,234 blogs that will have that title. Dave Chappelle is fucking loaded. His new deal could be worth up to $50 million. He gets $5 million a year for doing the show and revenue from DVD sales and merchandising. He told America's newspaper for illiterates, USA Today, "I'm not sure, but I believe there is a clause that gives me reparations for slavery." Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/03/television.chappelle.reut/.

Noah Lowry

replaces this ugly motherfucker:

(Dustin Hermanson) as a starter in the Giants rotation last night and throws a 3-hitter in shutting out the Reds. His changeup made the Reds hitters look like little leaguers. Hermanson moves to the bullpen, where he'll be the new closer and I think he will be excellent coming in to get the save. This picture doesn't do Hermanson justice, usually he's got these weird wedges shaved into his goatee, which makes him look like a Backstreet Boy. With the Dodgers making some inexpicable moves before the deadline, trading catcher Paul Lo Duca, outfielder Juan Encarnacion and setup man Guillermo Mota away for a bunch of scrubs, the Giants may just have a shot at first place in the West. What makes this Dodgers trade especially pleasing is how much it pissed off that fat fuck from Montreal, Dodgers closer Eric Gagne. He even wore some of the traded players' numbers on his hat to show his displeasure.

The Giants started off the season with a horrible string of losses that ended all hope for the season. Somehow, in June, they went on a tear and landed themselves in first place. It was almost better when they just sucked, and all hope for the season was lost, because now I can see their potential, one that will not be fulfilled. The Giants bullpen is absolutely atrocious, their supposed closer, Matt Herges looks like his ulcer is acting up everytime he takes the mound, and he usually proceeds to blow the game. Jason Schmidt ends up throwing about 10,000 pitches a game, because they don't want to hand it over to the bullpen. Now that the trade deadline has passed, the Giants didn't bother to get any bullpen help. Instead, they landed journeyman outfielder Ricky Ledee from the Phillies. I hate you Peter Magowan.

We headed out to the Rogue Wave CD release show on Saturday night. Sub Pop just re-released the band's debut, Out of the Shadow. The line at the Bottom of the Hill stretched past the end of the block. There are never lines at the Bottom of the Hill. I've seen these guys numerous times when the place was half full, it's funny what signing to Sub Pop will do for you. Though, I'd like to take some credit, I mean two of the bands on that night (Rogue Wave and Citizens Here and Abroad) have been featured on the cover of Mesh. Said hi to singer Zach Rogue, and he said hi back, though the look on his face said, "Wait a minute, who the hell are you?" in a nice way, though. Chuck Gonzalez of Sun of Mercury was in the house, as well as Nick Tangborn of Jack Pine Social Club, among other San Francisco rock-god luminaries. All in all an excellent night of rock, breathing more life into the local scene.