today is different

is our purpose not the same on this earth?

2008-02-13T13:41:00.001-08:00

i lost a shirt in the last couple months. i would describe it as possibly my favorite shirt. i remember there was a photo of me wearing it on the meatball magic blog so i've been combing through there for the last few minutes. so many faces i don't see anymore. and some real winnerpix:

anyway, i found the shirt pic. i think i'll make a poster out of it and staple it to telephone poles across the west coast. let me know if you see it.

there's a new cowboy on the ranch

2008-02-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

our boy malcolm has started a blog for his numerous opinions. enjoy!

drive the bitch

2008-02-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

by the way, all those best-of-2007 lists i saw missed the actual number one album of the year.

i give you a b-side from its first single: taken.

belief, relief

2008-02-08T11:01:00.001-08:00

my cousin gave me a scanner so i started going through stacks of old pentax pix last night. this one may look familiar to some folks. congratulations to one of the ladies pictured for making a major step toward official architecthood!

this zany world

2008-02-05T23:15:00.001-08:00

new york times article about a mysterious illness afflicting employees at a minnesota pork plant that "kills and butchers 19,000 hogs a day."

Tests showed that the man’s spinal cord was markedly inflamed. The cause seemed to be an autoimmune reaction: his immune system was mistakenly attacking his own nerves as if they were a foreign body or a germ.

...

As each head reached the end of the table, a worker would insert a metal hose into the foramen magnum, the opening that the spinal cord passes through. High-pressure blasts of compressed air then turned the brain into a slurry that squirted out through the same hole in the skull, often spraying brain tissue around and splattering the hose operator in the process.

The brains were pooled, poured into 10-pound containers and shipped to be sold as food — mostly in China and Korea, where cooks stir-fry them, but also in some parts of the American South, where people like them scrambled up with eggs.

The person blowing brains was separated from the other workers by a plexiglass shield that had enough space under it to allow the heads to ride through on a conveyor belt. There was also enough space for brain tissue to splatter nearby employees.

“You could see aerosolization of brain tissue,” Dr. Lynfield said.

The workers wore hard hats, gloves, lab coats and safety glasses, but many had bare arms, and none had masks or face shields to prevent swallowing or inhaling the mist of brain tissue.

a recommender

2008-01-22T08:56:00.000-08:00

geoff soule's new album is called "A Dialogue Between Feminine Wisdom And Masculine Uncertainty." geoff is in the band Fuck among other things. this new recording is my favorite. you can download a couple of the songs and even purchase the whole disc at supermegacorporation. i recommend the whole thing.

i know it's late

2008-01-21T23:36:00.000-08:00

this is a backwards world and i can't find much to say about it. luckily said world has hosted stronger folks than i.
nina simone - sunday in savannah

just keep wishing this guy was still around

2008-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

first voice and harmonium

2007-12-20T01:48:00.000-08:00

made some small changes to the site. have been flickring. working on some songs, playing at tokyo garden 12/27, going to get into some more snow, etc etc etc etc.

forget the future

2007-09-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

big ups to our buddy malcolm, who has been officially proclaimed "Godfather of indie rock" - twice!

she knows too much to argue or to judge

2007-09-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

do you know of an awesome place in the western US that the wheels of fortune band could perform during the first two weeks of december? if you just mouthed the word "yes" then email us. the name is ridaculous and the email provider is gmail dot com.

shoe talk

2007-09-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

toe area of my brown adidas stan smiths ripped on EACH SHOE during this little tour i just finished. well. going back to the rod lavers. a couple years ago, rod lavers were really easy to find in a wide array of color schemes. they seem to have gone back to the classic navy or green on white now though. whatever works. those things last forever.

i'm sorry i hurt you, the leader of the pack

when it rains it rains

2007-08-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

wheels of fortune just added a san francisco show this coming sunday, august 19, at the make out room with johanna kunin of seattle WA and tippy canoe & the paddlemen of oakland CA. it'll be rad.

sweet lady

2007-08-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

well, believe it or not, the teazer show has been moved again, this time to september 6. unfortunately we can't play that day. however there is another fresno show coming up this month. details and mp3 at The Web Site.

***

i suppose you heard about karl rove. it's funny how you pray and pray that guys like this will one day throw in the towel and resign in disgrace, but when it finally happens it's more like they're retiring as champion.

actually

2007-07-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

the august 2 robert amador/teazer anniversary show has been moved to saturday august 18.

homeless children

2007-07-27T22:44:00.001-07:00

this sort of thing of course makes my heart hurt, but i guess i don't live there either so what do i have to say. and this guy's been talking about moving for pretty much the whole time i've known him. i know it's plenty healthy and i don't think everyone should stay in the same little part of the world forever. but still, the town is less of a town without characters like jw, and that gets me down a bit. those p-town sirens are insatiable.

to take a wife and no paper

2007-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

todayisdifferent.blogspot.com can officially and exclusively confirm that the initial wheels of fortune compact disc release will occur august 2. the disc is going to be called "CLIPS" and robert amador is designing and manufacturing the cover. it will be for sale with his many fine wares at teazer’s three-year anniversary arthop event on olive in fresno CA one week from today. the disc is of what would commonly be referred to as "EP" length, containing about six ditties in total, all done at home over the last few weeks.

***

when experiencing the lingering effects of a previous evening's intoxicants, some of us like to listen to a river ain't too much to love by smog over and over. recommended.

***

last night i saw the donkeys at bottom of the hill. had not heard them previously. they were good. at first i thought they sounded a bit like the eagles, if the eagles weren’t so abominable. then i became convinced that they are probably eagles fans. but that’s ok i guess. anyhow, they seem like the sort of band that could "go someplace." sunny happy harmonies – see you on SNL.

i look like a dog

2007-07-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

going to play some music thursday august 2 in fresno as part of robert slam-a-door's teazer show. arthop and all that. this show will also be the first time you've ever had the chance to get your hands on wheels of fortune recordings. all new music - none of that "i heard that shit a month ago on myspace" style. more details by august 2.

things that are rad

2007-07-15T09:31:00.001-07:00

* drag city is releasing the next sir richard bishop album.

* wheels of fortune plays friday august 24 at full circle brewery in fresno ca.

* a four-song w.o.fortune EP is pretty much like done. two more are on the horizon for this very year. one recorded at home and one somewhere else. this market could use a flood.

* it's summer.

lo and behold

2007-06-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

which album recently went no. 1 after being featured on this very blog? starmakers: we'll admit it.

***

saturday june 23 is the next wheels of fortune show. this one takes place at tokyo garden in fresno california. with dave nash & the hashbrowns!

tryin to talk some sense

2007-06-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

this isn't getting the most glorious reviews but it is in fact really good:

***

just saw the arcade fire and they were really good. at first i thought the greek theatre sound guy needed to be put out to sea because all one could hear was drums and vocals, and even the vocals not so much. but things improved.

***

but just look at this:

i think you oughta go home

2007-05-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

wolfowitz: another career criminal of globally disastrous proportions sentenced to a (paid) mild public embarrassment. if only the world bank would resign from the world. more on that here, and how about a quick goodnight song for our man paul, courtesy of the oh sees?

***

working on the links.

***

friday's show was a good time. the david enos band was more magical than ever and the debut of vasco da gama (now reportedly called east river lighthouse boyz) was a thorough success. hotel utah was a surprisingly charming place, even though a certain sound guy went MIA at an important time. another day another dollar! some photos are here and here. thanks rachael and noah!

***

michael hurley's website is great these days.

***

remember how i said nina simone is the greatest person who ever lived? well i did. here is more evidence: the 10-minute-plus sinnerman. every second of the song is just awesome. maybe the best recorded performance ever. THE CLAPS!

i'm just going to go ahead and put this everywhere

2007-05-10T16:49:00.001-07:00

warm discovery

2007-05-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

lots of good things in the last two weeks, including live sightings of michael hurley and entrance. two of the best shows i have seen ever. i think someone slipped me a roofie at the latter show though. they must have thought my drink belonged to the little lady. another one taken for the team.

the highlight, though, of the aforementioned last two weeks, was two days spent recording in the good little city of fresno california. greer & daren made the rhythms and matt & brad took it all down on computer for the world to hear until said world implodes or is abandoned in favor of newer, fresher climes. it was a hot weekend, and our sweat provided the lubrication necessary to send our poundings smoothly down the wires and into their protools incubator. four songs started and four finished. mixing etc will commence in the next week or two, with any luck. the aforementioned folks are four of the finest.

i've been havin mine

2007-04-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

seeing michael hurley tomorrow night oh my. there is no one i'd rather see, i think. even though i've seen him before! so there. this is partly why.

loyalty, idolatry

2007-04-14T00:27:00.001-07:00

i went to lunch at the baja taqueria on piedmont today. it was the quietest taqueria i have ever been to. it was fairly full and there were even little kids and no one spoke above a whisper. the music was jazz. my burrito was really good and the hot salsa was actually kind of hot. i will go back. if it is quiet again i will chuckle.

it looks warmer than it actually is today.

if you get married, doing your taxes will be more of a pain.

i bought 'prayer of death' by entrance the other day. it BLEW MY MIND MAN.

sycophants, beware!

2007-04-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

exclusive update: the may 11 show will in fact not feature the gris gris. it will, however, feature the debut performance of VASCO DA GAMA. be there!

now i know that she thinks i am dead!

2007-03-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

wheels of fortune plays tokyo garden next saturday, march 31, with james brittain gore, eatcho, and mike & the green lady. four good friends; it is going to feel good for you and good for us. our set will feature the already-infamous tune mentioned below along with several others that you haven't heard unless you were in a certain oregon venue last monday. the show is three bones, so don't let them tell you fresno has gotten too expensive.

i don't know if i can uphold it on my own

2007-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have been up since 3:30 this morning. Earlier actually. Somewhere between 5 and 5:30 I came up with a song called "Fresno Is A Good Little Town." Hoo hoo!

the meaning of all the bad dreaming

2007-02-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

lately, the more chess i play, the worse i get. i figure this means i'm due for a breakthrough.

***

one good song i know of is cold discovery by smog, recorded for the john peel show in 2002. it sounds like jim white on the drums. when i interviewed will oldham (here we go again) i said i loved jim white's drumming, and he said, "yeah, he's one of the most exciting drummers, i think. in history, actually." agreed!

more thoughts on the temperature

2007-02-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

the first round of warm weather for the year came this weekend. it is cooler now though. the spring tease, i call it. i could smell the heat, and water on the warm ground. i've said it before: by january and february, my body ceases to believe it will feel warm again. then the heat returns and brings me back to life.

drank pale ale on the beach in santa cruz last night. you can't do much better than that, right?

why not? i did it.

2007-02-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

ok ... we know our previous post also involved will oldham, but really, you'll be doing yourself and the rest of the world a favor if you watch ian svenonius' internet tv talk show, soft focus.

click on the links on the right of the page to watch the episodes. guest 1 = w.o.; guest 2 = ian mackaye. hopefully many to come.

old man oldham

2007-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

this sure is good.

O

2007-02-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

listening to keiji haino (as a result of the six organs of admittance guy's repeated references) and reading an interview with him. both are good:

What I am doing is the real stimulant. To truly perceive yourself, to realize that you are alone and then see how far you can go on your own.

it's a saturday that feels like a sunday

2007-01-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

just now i was sitting at this computer watching silver jews videos and it occurred to me to check an old photo of lee hazlewood to see whether he had a plain mustache or also a ... what's it called ... the little bit of hair one sometimes grows just below the lower lip. it's an awful name, i think, so best not to publish it here anyway. the point is, i felt the impulse to open a browser to search the internet and then i thought that i could also just go into the other room and look at one of his cd covers. i'm still not sure which would be the best path.

watch some silver jews videos whydoncha:
how can i love you if you won't lie down
sleeping is the only love
(drag city has these in quicktime in case you have a video ipod or something.)

The Disciplined

2007-01-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

I bought this magazine called "American Songwriter" the other day because it had a big Willie Nelson interview. It also had an interview with Diane Warren, a native of California's San Fernando Valley who has written many of the last 25 years' most enduring radio hits. How many of these have been stuck in your head against your will?

"Unbreak My Heart," popularized by Toni Braxton
"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," popularized by Aerosmith (yes, that one, from the "Armageddon" soundtrack)
"How Do I Live," popularized by LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood
"Don't Turn Around," popularized by Aswad and Ace Of Base
"Rhythm Of The Night," popularized by DeBarge
"If I Could Turn Back Time," popularized by Cher
"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)," co-written with and popularized by Mariah Carey and also covered by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy as "Pussyfooting" on the 2004 "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow" single. A great song.

The upcoming Lenny Kravitz album includes a new song of hers, which she describes as "one of the best things I've ever heard." Gives me an ominous feeling.

thinking of the future

2007-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

going to portland in march. read all about it here.

we heard rademacher recorded a song called "today is different."

it's cold and our yard is scattered with death. have to make some cuts and see where we stand in spring.

more modern musical genius on the youtube

2007-01-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

* devin the dude - lacville 79
* smog - rock bottom riser (live w/joanna newsom)
the original video for the latter song is great too.

***

got some gardening done yesterday. when finished, i thought it was noon but it was nearly two. today i am sore. i think i'll stay inside and play guitar and chess until tonight when we see el olio wolof in SF.

my favorite ozzy song

2007-01-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

you should at least watch the start.

update on item one, previous post

2007-01-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

getting up early doesn't help, because it's still dark until 7:30!

toodaloo

2007-01-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

today i went to the famed two-story target in albany with my new gift card. at this target i obtained:
shovel (9.99)
rake (12.99)
shears (13.78)
pot (1.99)
maidenhair fern (6.99)
two patio chairs (9.99 each, in contrast to the 13.78 marked clearance price)
16 60-watt lightbulbs (4.99)
two 65-watt flood bulbs (4.99)
three pairs of underwear (7.00)
nivea face scrub (5.44)
flat grater (2.78 or something)
wire mesh colander (4.99)

all in all, a real steal. unfortunately it was dark by the time i got out of there and i won't be able to put the tools to use until next weekend. unless i get up really, really early one of these mornings.

***

very excited to report that wheels of fortune will play february 1 at teazer with RC and joey no-knows in dear old fresno for eatcho's arthop opening. both of these guys are amazing musicians and getting to be old friends and we're very, again, excited about the whole thing.

***

left another office behind. as it should be. i'll be working on my feet for a while now.

***

will there ever be enough hours in the day? not while you need them. but wait: nearly nine hours were spent in simple consumption last eve. alright ok.

***

recent favorites:
wooden guitar on locust music
guitars cadillacs etc etc by dwight yoakam
"sleepless nights" by emmylou harris

forever and always:
covers record by cat power
tanglewood numbers by silver jews
os mutantes mix disc, compiler unknown

***

what else to report? even superman worries he could have done more.

settling all accounts

2006-12-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

thanks to the many fine folks who came out to the debut performance. it was a grand time.

next up is a february 1 show in old fresno at the teazer establishment, as part of mehran 'eatcho' heard's arthop opening. some other people are probably playing too.

who vs who

2006-12-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

this is my new thing. come see it live december 28 at edinburgh castle if you please. with the almighty david enos.

***

it is cold! but it's a lovable cold.

***

about 17 months' worth of photographs are being developed at this moment. some of the top picks, should there be any picks whatsoever, will be displayed after the holidays on this very website. is the phrase "one-hour photo" just an industry joke or something? i got an estimate of five hours, which was about what i estimated before walking in.

***

my dad told me once that every year goes by faster. i can see that.

***

check out my latest html masterpiece: the all-new paintstories.com. i got paid in kisses for this one but if you're interested in hiring me, we can work something else out.

don't believe the hype

2006-12-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

for the record: the word around certain towns is that a certain someone was incapacitated due to inebriation at a recent concert. in fact said person was awake but not invited to perform during said concert. nor was said person invited to rehearsal earlier that day, in contrast to certain promises by you-know-who.

robot walks into a bar

2006-12-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

december 28 at edinburgh castle = first wheels of fortune performance. with the honorable david enos. we two will open for a pair called ramon and jessica, with whom we are unfamiliar but who seem pleasant.

laminated songs, contaminated lawns

2006-11-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

things have been busy around the ol headquarters. lots of rock breaking and digging, along with corporate-dress-code data entry and more.

the MW website might be dying a portentous death. a new era is on the horizon, though.

fall colors - why do you think they call it oakland?

and this: tazo scented teas are like drinking air freshener.

quicklie

2006-10-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

very long, very good will oldham interview here.

and you said he was a very great man

2006-10-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

michael hurley was magically awesome. the show was at 21 grand, which is kind of a gallery space with an accordion store in it. the crowd was quiet and he played a really, really "intimate" (for lack of desire to think of a better word right now) set that was perfect for the room. oh man. he opened with a few songs on fiddle, and that's all i can say about that. i didn't even know he played fiddle! he was hanging around the whole time and the lady talked painting technique with him for a while. he had tons of homemade CDRs and t-shirts, and he must do alright on the road 'cause people were snapping those things up. he played a ridiculously good version of "oh my stars," and stomped his foot throughout the evening. not the first time i've noticed how good a stomping foot sounds on a wood stage. there is no way i can convey the amazingness of the whole thing with typed words so i'll leave it here.

***

to balance the elatedness of the morning, we have this ridiculousness (to pick one example).

***

watched Peter Tosh - Stepping Razor: Red X a few days ago. it had a lot of clips from these autobiographical audio cassettes that he recorded himself, and interesting interview footage with folks who knew him. he comes across as a pretty angry fellow. unfortunately it included dramatic recreations of his death, plus an actor lip-syncing to the bio tapes. but it had a really smokin' live version of "you can't blame the youth," which is now one of my favorite reggae songs ever. apparently ben harper, uh, covered it once, but i think he left out some of the rougher lyrics. that's ben harper for ya i guess. anyway, i found a pretty great version of tosh and the rest of them wailers doing the song live in 1973 just up the road in Sausalito CA: you can't blame the youth - live at KSAN radio record plant.

earlier this week, it was Sherman's March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love in the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation. pretty long, but very entertaining. some real characters in there. i would give hilarious quotes but the way they come out of nowhere is the best part.

well well

2006-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

i found out some crazy things in the last five minutes. first, michael hurley's website is back up. second, he has a myspace, although it's not a music one. third, he is playing tonight in my town, although his official site lists the dates wrong. oh my lord. this is the one musician i really, really, really want to see. and there ya go.

it's crazy how hard i have tried and failed to keep up with his touring schedule, because in the past i only found out about his california shows weeks or months after the fact. finally.

could it be your mother's writing, could it be your sister's writing

2006-10-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

last night we watched 'me & you & everyone we know.' it was not bad but i don't think we liked it as much as some of our friends.

and now, because time is short, a photo:

the running himalayan rondo

2006-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

do you know this man? there was a near-exact replica of him at the man man show last night. he was doing merch or something for pink mountaintops and resembled ol' man simonian in nearly every way. slight - and i mean slight - difference in facial features and he was wearing black cowboy boots; otherwise a dead ringer.

the show was good. last time we saw man man i had no idea who they were and it was in howie's pizza in visalia. it was nice to see them on a big stage (at the independent). i was wondering if it would suit them less but i think it suited them more. lots of fun to watch.

we missed the first band. the second, the aforementioned pink mountaintops, were pretty good. psych/70s rock type stuff for the most part. the singer's voice had kind of a mike ness thing going on. if mike ness made 70s psych-rock.

dream theater

2006-10-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

had some kinda assassin dream. at first i was just watching this scene in which a guy (assassin) in a suit or an officer's getup slides down into this underground-bunker-lab type of room. there are lots of busy people in the room, mostly looking like scientists/lab workers or military officers. the assassin manages to blend in as he goes around shooting several people. he is definitely focused on one or two targets in particular but he shoots several people along the way. people start to catch on but he's hard to get ahold of because he blends in so well and he keeps ducking underneath tables and such.
i watch the scene several times and each time it's slightly different: the second time through, the assassin has a silencer on his gun and lasts a bit longer. i think the first time he gets caught but the second time he manages to get out of the room. i gradually come to understand that the bunker is run by nazis. kind of like that wolfenstein game.
the third or fourth time through, i become the assassin. i'm ducking around tables and evading these scientists and officers, all of whom are pretty much onto me. i manage to keep shooting quite a few of them. as with almost every dream i've ever had involving a weapon, my gun doesn't shoot quite right. the bullets leave a black mark but don't make anyone bleed. still, this time around, they seem to be causing death. i think my mom calls as i'm hiding underneath a table and i have a quick conversation with her. i'm thinking about what she said as i climb out a window and start running. i'm not sure if i got all my intended targets or not, but i think i did. i run across the street to what looks like reedley college. i walk so as to blend in with the college kids, although there aren't many of them around. i know i am being closely followed and i duck into a building. i find myself in a huge white room filled with strange white curtain-type things. these curtains span the width of the room and are placed about two or three feet apart. they're made of a fairly solid, plastic-like material and are only slightly translucent. i figure that anyone 10 feet behind me probably can't see me, except that the curtains don't hang quite all the way to the ground so it would be possible to see my feet. as i'm weaving through these things i have the sense that someone is following close behind. it is a woman, i think, and i think it is a woman who looks like bjork. she is walking. i am moving quickly and trying to either hide or just get out of this maze-like room. the bjork song "hidden place" is playing. it's either an a cappella version or a version with just voice and strings. it's very creepy, trying to get away while her voice echoes through the room: "you go to that hid-den place." i think i wake up around this point.

gesundheit

2006-10-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

hey look, will oldham is on the cover of the german rolling stone. wild! too bad about the "Freak Folk" thing but whatever.

... das zur Zeit in aller Munde ist: New Weird America.

when you come back to me

2006-10-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

things i have been feelin':
bob's red mill 7-grain hot cereal. takes a little longer than oatmeal but not much, and it's worth it. very hearty stuff, full of those wholesome whole grains. dried blueberries and honey help out.

robbie basho. the myspace is not run by him, of course, since he has returned to the essence, but it has a couple nice songs.

the devil & daniel johnston. so so so good, definitely one of the best music documentaries i have viewed. just came out on dvd a couple weeks ago, i guess.

things i have not been feelin':
the way firefox seems to crash more often with each new version. this probably has something to do with running windows 98 on a six- or seven-year-old machine though, i guess.

***

also watched my architect - a son's journey, about louis kahn, on the recommendation of lars. it was very good. funny ol guy. the director/narrator, kahn's son, puts in a couple unintentionally strange shots of himself - one in which he rollerblades around the salk institute. nice movie.

but i've heard another version

2006-09-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

the fader has an extended version of this month's ian svenonius interview. from what i have seen of his new book, it is a crucial and wonderful piece of reading.

we'll keep them well fed with our poisonous crumbs

2006-09-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

the sun city girls have a couple awesome videos on their myspace page.

***

watched two flicks recently: "thelonious monk: straight no chaser" and "the duellists." the monk flick was good, much less dialogue than i expected. lots of strange, quietish shots of him being strange and quietish. "the duellists" stars harvey keitel and keith carradine and i had wanted to see it for a long time. never could find it until joining netflix. it was interesting. shorter and simpler than i imagined, somehow. harvey keitel's character was pretty dang one-dimensional which was disappointing i think. but the shots were amazing. ridley scott's first film. i would like to watch it again. one thing that was distracting was that it was set in france in the early 1800s and the accents floated between british (most of the women) to somewhat new york-ish (keitel) to, i don't know, old money new england? (carradine). i don't know why i had such specific expectations for these two flicks. it's nice to be surprised.

***

magic whores play tuesday october 17 at san francisco's make-out room with the hot IQs of denver CO and old friends rademacher.

together forever & ever

2006-09-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

watched the silver jews perform a couple nights ago. it was pretty amazing. better than i expected by a sight, and i anticipated a good'un. d berman said funny things like, "so i was going to play this song 'random rules' now. people always ask me, they ask, why does the line say 'steve?' and (pause) it's because that's the guy's name."

he was a little more witty than that but it's the best i can remember. anyhow, they were a little rocky but really pretty dang together for their first tour ever.

***

some of us have moved to a new city now. it's called oakland and it's a wonder.

it's a different kind of respect than you're used to

2006-08-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

this thing is going to migrate sometime soon. keep an eye on the ol' magicwhores.net.

***

that pearl show was great. our bassist/host got fined 500 bones for noise or whatever but we think he's going to beat it. cross them fingers.

***

a breeze on my hot head. my dad was telling me last night about how he had back problems for years (i remember) and saw a chiropractor and did a set of exercises every morning and evening (i remember). these troubles run in the family, i've always been told. then one day, eight or ten years ago, he read some book about how it was all in his head, and then it pretty much went away. this breeze feels nearly icy after an evening of such heat.

***

when choosing a band name, one really ought not to take one's relatives' potential opinions into account. then again, it can make for some tedious conversations so perhaps one ought to after all.

***

drinking olympia again. it's great in this weather. i've also had it in the cold and it was good then too. there is perhaps no greater invention than a crispy coat of chocolate over a piece of ice cream. luckily we live in such an age when even a dairy avoider like myself can still enjoy such pleasures. humans of the ages: the good you've done may seem to pale in comparison to the rest, but it can be marvelously good nonetheless.

***

to the person that often attacks our flyers in the tokyo garden foyer prior to a show: we're on to you, little hen. you are your own punishment.

and close the hand

2006-08-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

so that gris gris show the other day sure was great. you can hear some jokers yap about it here.

see the magic whores for the last time before half of them move on to cooler climes this saturday 8/26 at the pearl building in fresno. 1841 fulton. free. they'll be back though so don't sweat it if you can't hang.

beer of choice on this friday is olympia, although wikipedia says it ain't the same anymore.

also, can you believe the stuff they'll print these days?

more jams

2006-08-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

recently took a spill on the ol bicycle. i don’t know how it happened; i was riding through a parking lot, went past a car, and suddenly i was goin down. slid on some blacktop and put more scrapes on my body than i have maybe ever had at once. also i think my toe got caught in the spokes or something cause it is significantly ripped up. not that much pain really except when cleaning. i’d had a couple of drinks earlier in the day and i don’t doubt that there’s a connection.

***

one can view the trailer for “old joy,” starring our man oldham, here.

***

recent favorite dear abby/ann landers headlines:
'No Gag Gifts' Means Just That
Dance, But Don't Show Off

the nurse to tell them fairy tales

2006-08-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

magic whores are playing with gris gris at tokyo garden saturday august 19. gris gris have been wanting to get back to fresno for a long time so we are all so dang happy that it is working out.

trivia: last time the gris gris was in fresno, in late 2004, they played a party with no cello and everyone went “crazier than a shithouse rat” talking about how great it was. couldn’t go, though: was with mancillas, burnett and orme recording the first rademacher EP at brad’s house aka gardenside v1.0. james b-g came by after the show to play drums on the recording because travis had forgotten or something. you know how it goes with doctor trav. gris gris also played a certain wedding in reedley last year. no one remembers how that went but several photographs indicate that people were having fun.

that's the way the stomach settles

2006-08-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

looks like les whores will be playing a show with a superb out-of-town guest august 19 at tokyo garden. mark them calendars.

the arthop night was a lot of fun. jason graham’s work is great. wish that guy had a site we could link to but for now you’ll just have to believe it. mycow made a debut performance of sorts, and it was great. he used a couple drum machines and a ukulele and his beautiful voice.

we will probably finally have some shirts in proper girls’ sizes at this show. we’ve probably said that before though.

nina simone is the greatest person who ever lived

2006-08-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

(first in a series)

In 1971 Nina hooked up with Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda to perform on the "FTA" ("Fuck the Army") anti-war tour.

if it be your will

2006-07-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

sir richard bishop was great and gracious. it’s a shame our broadway studios brethren were all out of town because at least a few of them would have appreciated this one. the lineup included simon, reid, travis and niilo. daren was in attendance but didn’t perform, save for one blazing jam at practice earlier in the afternoon. cars flowers opened and was good.

have been working on some better recordings at reid’s apartment. coming soon to the world wide internet.

next up is an arthop performance at jason graham’s opening. taking place at the teazer tea house in fresno’s tower district. this should be an extra good time. two different sets - one solo, one full band. by request, we promise. wow.

thriftiness is loneliness

2006-07-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

can i tell you about some of the records i want? i've been trying to save so i've got a long list.

citay - don't remember the album title but this is a new thing from san francisco. features a lot of guitar playing by tim green of the fucking champs.

the fucking champs - c4am95
first champs album. had a chance to buy this on vinyl at amoeba a ways back and forgot to go back and get it before i went out the door. now it's out of print, whaddya know.

michael hurley - various albums because he's the best thing ever. they're almost all out of print though.

albert ayler - everything i can find because he made some of the most wonderful music there is. he died early so there's no late-period cheese in the catalog.

lambchop - finally getting into these guys.

eh, why list the rest. there are many. all the awesome '60s reissues on ESP Disk. new bonnie prince billy soon. the silver jews albums i don't have. nation of ulysses, it never ends.

***

tomorrow is the sir richard bishop show. going to be fun. in case you haven't heard, i drew a flyer in the inimitable mspaint:

jambalaya, hondo hondo

2006-07-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

do you know this man?

on the roll

2006-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

sometimes i edit the links on the right. some notes:

weird war world is the home of weird war, a great band that i first saw several years ago but am only now really beginning to appreciate. if you feel like it, watch the video for "mental poisoning" but more importantly listen to the magnificent song.

mavo.nu is finn's new site, with the return of the fastacting blog. worlds of knowledge and culture.

the dust congress is a wholesome blend of poetry, political commentary, silver jews news and other morsels.

sir richard bishop is playing this friday in fresno with les whores and that's going to be magnificent. a good friend recently conducted an impressive interview with the good sir for fresno famous, located here.

recent phone conversation

2006-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

me: hello
caller: is troy there?
me: there's no troy here.
caller: is troy there?
me: no one named troy lives here.
caller: is there a mr. johnson?
me: no.
caller: are you mr. johnson?
me: no.
caller: do you live at 862 e pine?
me: no.
caller: i am a fraud investigator. there has been some very serious fraud going on with your phone.
me: really?
caller: yes, (unintelligible) and we're going to send a swat team out so i need you to cooperate with me.
me: what?
caller: i need you to cooperate with me.
me: no, the part before that.
caller: (unintelligible, something about fraud and a swat team). there has been some very serious crimes committed with your phone number. fraud and even murder.
me: someone committed murder with this phone number?
caller: yes.
me: wow.
caller: what is your name sir?
me: i'm still not clear on who you are and why you're calling me.
caller: i am a fraud investigator and a swat team will be coming out. how long have you had this number sir?
me: um, couple years.
caller: have you had any thieves or murderers in your house using your phone?
me: haha, no, no murderers using the phone.
caller: are you sure you're not mr. johnson?
me: yes, i'm sure.
caller: are you sure you're not mr. johnson?
me: i don't really have time to answer the same questions over and over-
caller: what?
me: i'm working right now and i don't have time to answer these questions over and over.
caller: look, sir, i am a fraud investigator and there has been a murder and a swat team will be coming out-
me: a swat team is going to 862 e pine?
caller: a swat team will be coming out. i am a fraud investigator. this is very serious sir.
me: well, i'll just speak with the swat team when they get here.
caller: i have been doing this for six years. i am a fraud investigator.
me: ok. i'll speak with the swat team when they get here.
[caller hangs up]

purrformance

2006-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

we may have said it before, but it's only because we really, really mean it: police dog is playing this saturday june 24 at tokyo garden. with batteries, cars flowers and arc minute. if you want to know about those bands and this one, we will tell you some other time. it's hot and our brains ache and why are we typing again anyhow.

a man named mingo

2006-06-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

the calvin johnson show at the info shop is apparently all-ages and alcohol-free, but the boozehounds among you can also mosey down a block or two to full circle brewery and get your drink on whilst witnessing the magic of mehreideran and many others. it's a fundraiser for 'the undercurrent,' a new newspaper put together by people of the utmost quality and integrity. i'm pretty much probably not performing with mehreideran; several hours of near-last-minute rehearsals have made it clear that filling greer's shoes is going to take a little more preparation than some assumed.

song of the slut

2006-06-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

in our best tin man impression, we cried "if only we had a drummer." times were tough, but fuck it, we said. life's too short to cry! that's what we told our wives, anyhow.

***

something happened to one of our sunflowers. i don't know what. but i found it in pieces on the ground. it was beautiful for several days and i suppose that is wonderful.

***

toshi's advice is as such: if you want something, just talk about it all the time. you'll get it.

***

and look at this. our friendly whole foods beer & wine buyer told us ol' CJ puts on a heckuva show.

another unpaid endorsement

2006-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

i can highly recommend trader joe's "asian style spicy peanut vinaigrette." tried it for lunch just now on a salad with marinated baked tofu and it was just what i was looking for.

the highwayman did ride

2006-06-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

last night i dreamt i was watching an old western starring willie nelson and richard farnsworth, both in their younger days. it was action-packed. i wish i could watch the whole thing.

extrapolations optional

2006-05-31T23:13:00.000-07:00

how many animals instinctively avoid anything that moves? almost all of them, i'd say. flies for sure.

somebody pay alan

2006-05-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

what's happening

2006-05-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

there will be some sort of collaboration between myself and members of mehreideran at the full circle brewery june 9. i'm not sure if it has a name or whatever.

***

police dog has a show, june 24 at tokyo. yay

***

mitch noted this morning that the "remaining members of the doors" are suing club fred. stupid doors.

days of sun and wind

2006-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

if you voted for this guy in 2000, you must have been ignorant. if you voted for him in 2004, you must be a sociopath.

three semi-rhetorical questions

2006-05-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

1. why did horace andy record "ain't no sunshine"?

2. why is it on every horace andy compilation?

3. does its presence on a compilation make it impossible to purchase said compilation? i used to think so, then i bought one anyway, and here i am listening to "ain't no sunshine."

made a mix

2006-05-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

maybe i should make it into mp3 form but that's unlikely. if we run into each other in the next couple days i can give you one. it goes like this:

1 only someone running by bonnie prince billy & matt sweeney
2 gnostic gem by sir richard bishop
3 barco negro by amalia rodrigues
4 i think i'll move by michael hurley
5 shadow of the wasp by royal trux
6 been so long by vetiver
7 sunday in savannah by nina simone
8 year zero by gris gris
9 you can't beat tomorrow by the howling hex
10 mother's last word to her son by washington phillips

it is pretty good.

foolproof sandwich ingredients

2006-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

fresh baked or toasted ciabatta bread

dijon mustard
balsamic vinegar

avocado
caramelized onions
roasted mushrooms (portobello or crimini in particular)
roasted zucchini / summer squash
roasted red pepper
arugula
tomato
sprouts (fresh ones from the fresno vineyard farmer's market in particular)

any combination of the above will be splendid. roast the vegetables whole (brushed with olive oil), then slice. ohmagosh. and can i take a second to explain the sprouts situation? at the market on blackstone and shaw you can find the freshest most wonderful sprouts that exist. they have daikon, sunflower, broccoli and others along with some sprouted beans that are just about the best thing ever.

for a lighter, more raw-oriented sandwich, i would toss some cucumber and tofutti "better than cream cheese" into the mix. now you're in business.

breaking!

2006-05-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

police dog covers mehreideran! click for mp3!

seconds minutes hours

2006-05-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

bloody awesome youtube links o the day:

leonard cohen performing "the stranger song"

the highwaymen performing "the highwayman"

70-minute video of bonnie prince billy performing with matt sweeney and others

***

magic whores will play meatball magic for alan's birthday june 2. did you know you can buy stuff online now? police dog is a related project.

rackets

2006-05-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

check out a live photo of a recent show, courtesy of our man kurtz. i don't know which song we were playing but it looks downright sensual.

there's a little dance that i'd like to do with you

2006-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

yesterday the buzzsaw was plugged into a fender twin reverb amplifier and its buzzing was nowhere to be heard. interesting. the san francisco crowd was wonderful, and wonderfully populated by a healthy number of traveling fresnans.

***

a three-song disc of magic whores recordings is currently being distributed at shows for very cheap. this is a non-numbered edition of about 17 copies so hey, get yours quick. the songs are "swear," "gutless," and "jelly jitters." one of the songs is now on the foxspace.

**

magicwhores.net is down right now for nearly inexplicable reasons but magicwhores.com seems to be doing just fine.

american amends

2006-05-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

in contrast to what was previously reported, it now appears that we will be performing in a heretofore unknown configuration at the san francisco show. what's more, we will not be forgoing our precious acoustic buzzsaw. ginger ears beware.

from an official source:

this sunday there will be five excellent bands playing the north beach annual art festival, "art in the alley," sponsored by vesuvio and city lights bookstore. come and see them play, plus a lot of really great art from local artists. hope to see you there for some sunshine and cocktails in lovely north beach. its not as hard to get to as you think....

art in the alley festival
1-6 pm sunday may 7th
kerouac alley located between city lights bookstore and vesuvio
columbus and broadway, north beach
free!!!
all ages

david and joanna 1-1:30
Barbarossa 1:45-2:30
conquest of the ages 2:45-3:30
the magic whores 3:45-4:20
jeff baumann 4:30-5:15

hope to see you there. you're pretty.

is to kill is to sin

2006-05-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

did you know? the magic whores have a new-looking website.

for both of this week's shows, we will perform in the classic four-piece lineup. complaints are rolling in about our acoustic guitar's pickup buzz so we may have to forgo the ol gal until she gets fixed up.

we may or may not have some recorded musics and female-friendly shirts available at said shows. been debuting new songs at every show lately so dontcha miss a one.

also, if you're in big frezz on friday, you can check out our beloved drum-hitter DJing at the absolutely always wonderful meatball magic.

like dogs without homes

2006-04-17T23:45:00.000-07:00

for wednesday's show, the magic whores will perform in a never-before-seen two-man configuration. the two men will be reid and niilo. reid just got back from the dominican republic and is having a little trouble adjusting to american life after experiencing the wonders that are foreigners. so forgive him if he seems a little spaced out. this is the flyer, displayed exclusively on the internet.

tapes cds baby please

2006-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

regarding the black beans / capsaicin question, that soup i made ended up being really hot with one jalapeno. so maybe it's the corn that calms the salsa down. dunno. i made bread successfully for the first time in i don't know how long yesterday. i would say it was my most successful bread ever.

dal

2006-04-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

i just made some yellow dal; probably the best i've made so far ever. i don't make it super thick. it goes like this; measurements are approximate because i sort of eyeballed everything:

1 cup red lentils
7 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons safflower oil
3/4 inch ginger, grated
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 small red onion
2 small cloves garlic
1 stalk celery, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 a large carrot, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
dash or two of crushed red chili pepper
salt and pepper

combine the lentils, water and bay leaf and heat until boiling; then turn down to low heat and simmer.

while the lentils are cooking, heat the oil in a medium-sized pan. add the onion and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. add the carrot, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and cook for another minute. add the celery, garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. add the turmeric, coriander and fenugreek and cook for another minute. add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. add to the lentils and stir.

the lentils should only take 30 or 40 minutes to cook. you can keep simmering longer if you'd like to blend the flavors some more; i probably let it go for a full hour today. add the crushed red chili pepper about 30 minutes in; earlier if you want it to steep more and make things hotter. sometimes instead of crushed chilis i just cook a fresh jalapeno or serrano with the onions etc, but that can get really hot.

add salt and pepper to taste and you're done. i like this with jasmine or basmati rice and naan bread. today i had it with these sun-dried tomato & habanero tortillas from trader joe's; they're good. also a small salad and this wild rice pilaf that i kind of screwed up. i'll let you know if i get it right.

you can also make yellow dal with yellow split peas; i'm pretty sure i've posted a recipe along those lines before. yellow split peas don't break up as quickly and easily as red lentils though, as i discovered today.

here to make you scream

2006-04-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

as sort of previously mentioned, on wednesday april 19 at tokyo garden there will be a (possibly) stripped-down version of the magic whores, with sholi and hoppi potti. recording efforts have amounted to little but we have some stuff to revisit.

***

saw a great performance by merced's own joey no knows on thursday.

***

in highly personal news, i had the best haircut experience of my whole life the other day, and whole foods started carrying olympia (for cheap). i know the "beer buyer" there so i'll have to give him KUDOS. it's been a good few days.

two questions

2006-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

1) is there something in black beans that neutralizes the capsaicin in hot peppers? it seems that when i make black bean salsa, i can add way more peppers and it never gets all that hot, compared to regular tomato salsa. i'm making black bean soup tonight, i think, and i'm wondering whether i should use one jalapeno or two.

2) are you free in fresno tonight? if so you can see the magic whores at starline. that's the plan anyhow.

to call or add minutes

2006-03-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

reid made a flyer for this sunday's pearl building extravaganza:

***

and someone we know was a guest on devoya's libation podcast this month.

***

an alternate configuration of the magic whores, maybe known as magic horse, will likely perform wednesday april 19 at tokyo garden with a couple other good bands. stay tuned!

you know not the minute not the hour

2006-03-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

in case you haven't read it elsewhere, the meatball magic show this friday is not really happening because of a conflict at the venue. a late-night-only, no-bands version of meatball magic is still happening so it still oughta be fun. but no magic whores and no guest dj set. ah well.

***

muir glen fire roasted organic tomatoes make great salsa. put a jalapeno or serrano in a food processor with one clove of garlic and a few green onions, chop, then add a handful of cilantro leaves, chop again, then add the tomatoes (juices included), juice of one lemon or lime, and salt and pepper and chop again. and voila.

they always seem to have said tomatoes at both trader joe's and whole foods. also i think i noticed them at wild oats when i was in a different city.

***

this bob dylan/johnny cash stuff is great. i found some of these on napster way back when but have never seen all of the songs together like this. i read an interview with one of them once in which it was made clear that these would never get an official release because they were sloppy or whatever. silly, cause it's all completely wonderful.

raised on replicas

2006-03-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

traveled to merced last night for earlimart/band of horses. band of horses was just as much like my morning jacket (the first album) as i suspected. not like a clone or anything, not even in a bad way at all. but that type of thing: slow-ish country rock with shoegazer lead guitars. the singer was good and fun to watch and had not one but TWO neck tattoos.

earlimart did their thing; they have changed things up a bit since i last saw them. taking a cue from rademacher, methinks. everyone looks so serious except, sometimes, a-dog. i think 'drink on the job' is still probably the song i like the most by them, but you can't be looking all serious when that 'doodedoodedoodedoode' keyboard line comes in on the chorus.

folks in the building:
greg from modesto
jason from grandaddy
another guy from grandaddy, aaron i think?
a couple fresno folks i didn't expect to see
and get ready for this: ROBERT "ED" JENKINS from kingsburg california. no joke folks. i didn't see him til after the show but then he was wandering around and i was like HOLY FUCK it's ed. i almost said hi but it was like, that can't possibly be ed. but hey, i haven't seen him for like 8 years, and for all i know he's been following earlimart on tour this whole time.

afterward mike did his typical say-we're-leaving-then-disappear-for-a-while-then-give-me-a-new-beer thing. eventually we got outta there.

so i can't say i think band of horses is going to ride this hype all the way to the top. they're a good band, but i wasn't blown away and i don't really see how other people are going to be. maybe the record is amazing, i dunno. also, did they name their album after a radiohead lyric? hmm.

***

stuff you should do: come see the magic whores friday march 31 at meatball magic. one magic whores member is going to be DJing as 'honey whitlock.' which one, you ask? only one way to find out!

also april 2 we are going to have a potluck/music event at the pearl building. one of those sunday afternoon drinkathons, you know the kind i mean. magic whores will play, along with mehreideran and hoppi potti. according to kim of hoppi potti, this is her first time ever performing for real. dig it!

***

youtube links o'the day:

geto boys - mind playin tricks on me
if i'd had a credit card when i was 12 i would have run up an obscene balance requesting this song on the box over and over. once again i chant: thank goodness for the internet!

silver jews - how can i love you (if you won't lie down)
you just might hear this one during a certain DJ's set at a certain dance night one of these fresh young evenings.

***

tag wrote a funny story that may or may not be about his recent visit to tha frez.

***

ok i just remembered a thought from last night: band of horses kinda struck me as a cross between mmj and earlimart. take that as you will.

***EDIT: i should stop mouthing off. the band of horses album is great.

weekend update

2006-03-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

saw the howling hex at bottom of the hill saturday and that was great. all really long simple songs but still pretty interesting. this guy phil jenks read poetry as the opening act, and he was good. then it turned out he was part of the band, as tambourine/vocals. neil hagerty played guitar and sang and this goofy looking fellow also played guitar and sang. the latter fellow looked like a young sideshow bob and had this kind of groovin-out-on-life expression that you might see on the guitarist of your favorite jam band. the drummer smiled a lot and was fun to watch. the bassist probably is also in a reggae band. anyway it was thoroughly enjoyable and we even got our dance on. i assume that, as billed, the band played mostly songs from 'all-night fox' although i don't have that album so i dunno for sure. when neil first came out he was dancing around and playing guitar but then he kind of messed up, gave the bassist this "oh well, i tried!" expression and didn't really dance anymore. i love the crazy feeling one gets (if one is me) when someone whose work you hold in high esteem first gets on the stage. before they start playing. when you are just realizing this person exists in the same world as you and here they are a few feet away, and O LORD THE ANTICIPATION WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

i had two extra tickets that none of my friends would take me up on. so before the show i found some fine folks outside who bought them at face value (obviously i am no scalper plus it wasn't sold out).

"we're not sure if we're going to go in ... is it going to be good?" they asked.

"yes! it's going to be great," i said. i hope they liked it.

***

david and joanna have entered the internet and it is a beautiful thing.

***

traded a number of CDs to amoeba, none of which i want to think about. i got three in return:

rita lee - build up (more orchestra than i expected)
the howling hex - 1-2-3 (some really good songs and some you might not want to hear that often; i could be wrong)
babyshambles - down in albion (i know for sure i like several songs a lot but haven't listened to the whole thing yet)

i really wanted babyshambles so i paid the outrageous import price. otherwise i could have gotten a few other things i wanted, like more michael hurley, os mutantes etc.

obtained several quality books at moe's, which must be my favorite bookstore.

***

after the show, wandered with whiskey and played tag on baker beach until sunrise. if there is a better way to spend a saturday evening i'd like to know about it.

my favorite tofu vegetable curry ever

2006-03-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

one large yellow onion, diced
one green (redbottomed) onion, chopped
one jalapeno, chopped pretty finely
one one-inch cube of ginger, grated
four healthy-sized garlic cloves or equivalent, minced/pressed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned works fine, just get good cans)
one green bell pepper, roughly chopped
one head of broccoli
one carrot, chopped
one stalk celery, chopped
one 14oz package tofu, pressed for a lil while and cut into decent-sized chunks
three leaves of chard, chopped
one teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
one HEAPING teaspoon fenugreek
one HEAPING teaspoon coriander
one HEAPING teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon herbamare
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
one cup vegetable broth
3 to 4 tablespoons oil (half safflower, half sunflower)

heat the oil on medium/medium-high. add yellow onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, adding the cumin seeds about 4 minutes in.
add the jalapeno, garlic, ginger and mustard seeds and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, covering from now on most of the time. if using green onion, add the bottom parts now and save the green parts to sprinkle on at the very end.
add the tomato paste and tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
add the bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, celery, tofu, fenugreek, coriander, turmeric, herbamare and sea salt. add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth. cook for 20 to 30 minutes, lowering the heat to medium-low after about 5 minutes. add the rest of the broth every few minutes as needed to keep it from getting too dry. stir every so often but keep covered most of the time.

add freshly ground pepper and serve. this is awesome with brown or basmati rice, pita/flatbread and a salad.

if by chance not using tofu, i would reduce the seasonings to a normal teaspoon. this is great without tofu too, especially if you substitute eggplant.

after laughter

2006-03-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

these are some things that have happened since my last post:

the magic whores played at tokyo garden and it was good. then we played at broadway studios; not as good. daren moved but not far and we will not be hindered. the tokyo garden show featured david enos and mike from rademacher with a couple friends. both those performances were great.

michael hurley is playing in seattle soon, so i might just go to seattle soon.

i have been making a lot of pizza. before that i made some curry that i liked a lot. recipes to follow, yes dear.

fastacting has returned.

along with the above, i am adding the following smokin' links:
mehreideran is my favorite new fresno band of 2006. they are like the sister band of the magic whores. that's what i hope anyway.

that is the only other link i'm adding.

i am going to perform solo, supposedly, as part of an evening of musics april 29 at tokyo garden.

and now it seems like there was no reason to write after all.

that's the way it is

2006-01-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

the panty lions have a site and it's nice. go looky.

live magic whores is coming up early march, i think, maybe earlier.

went to a great show at tokyo garden - shirts and calendars now available! - but missed the opening act, which i really wish hadn't happened. there will be more though.

updates on the top 10 list from the other day

2005-12-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

a) the z-ro album IS the shit.
b) the silver jews album also ties for the 10 slot. i haven't even heard the whole thing but i feel certain of this.

on the last day of your life, don't forget to die

2005-12-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

i should have mentioned in my previous post that "tanglewood numbers" by silver jews will probably take that tenth slot once i buy it.

the sour graper just linked an awesome photo of our fair town. the mountains have actually been way more clear than the pic lets on.

oh man am i excited about the 06. to celebrate, royal trux - another year.